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Columbia  ^Bnititr^^itp 
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THE  LIBRARIES 


Bequest  of 

Frederic  Bancroft 

1860-1945 


THE    LIFE 


MOST  REV.  M.  J.  SPALDING,  D.D, 


ARCHBISHOP  OF  BALTIMORE. 


J.     L.     SPALDING,     S.T.L 


"  Romse  nutriri  mihi  contigit  atque  doceri." 

Horace. 


CHRISTIAN  PRESS  ASSOCIATION  PUBLISHING  CO., 

New  York 

AND 

SAN    FRANCISCO,   CAL. 


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PREFACE. 


RCHBISHOP  SPALDING  left  his  papers 
and  letters  to  the  Very  Rev.  I.  T.  Hecker, 
that  he  mieht  make  whatever  use  of  them 
he  should  think  proper. 

Those  to  whom  the  task  of  writing  this  life  might 
have  been  entrusted,  with  the  confident  hope  that 
it  would  be  well  performed,  were  not  at  leisure ;  and 
I  was  chosen,  less  from  the  conviction  that  I  was 
fitted  for  the  work  than  from  the  belief  that  what  I 
lacked  in  abilitv  might  in  some  measure  be  supplied 
by  zeal  and  industry. 

Though  to  others  this  choice  may  be  matter  for 
regret,  in  my  mind  it  will  ever  remain  associated 
with  the  pleasant  memories  of  the  happy  days 
which  I  spent  in  the  society  of  the  Fathers  of  the 
Congregation  of  St.  Paul,  whilst  engaged  in  this 
work. 


iv  Preface. 

Even  to  have  failed  is,  possibly,  not  wholly  without 
honor. 

Success  in  biographical  writing-,  under  the  most 
favorable  circumstances,  is  rare. 

The  difficulty  is  increased  when  the  subject  of 
biography  is   but   recently  dead. 

Time,  the  approver,  which  destroys  false  and  fac- 
titious reputations,  is  alone  able  to  bring  out  in  all 
their  worth  and  loveliness  those  which  are  founded 
in  merit. 

Then,  the  surroundings  of  a  man's  life  are  like  the 
frame  to  the  picture  and  the  light  in  which  it  is 
seen. 

Onlv^  time  can  give  this  setting  and  mellow  down 
the  liorht. 

No  life  with  which  we  are  perfectly  familiar  can 
be  wholly  beautiful. 

Omne  ignotum  pro  magnified  est,  is  the  phrase  of 
the   Roman   historian. 

It  is  this  unknown  that  is  wanting  in  biography 
which  deals  with  the  lives  of  men  whom  we  have 
seen   face  to  face  and  touched  with  our  hands. 

The  life  of  a  priest,  too,  in  ordinary  times,  is 
necessarily  uneventful. 

There  are  no   "battles,   sieges,  fortunes";   *'disas- 


Preface.  v 

trous  chances,  moving  accidents  by  flood  and  field, 
hair-breadth  'scapes  i'  th'  imminent,  deadly  breach," 
to  be  told  of;   and  thouQrh 


t> 


"  The  drj'ing  up  a  single  tear  has  more 
Of  honest  fame  than  shedding  seas  of  gore," 

men  now,  as  in  ages  past,  will  make  heroes  of  the 
successful  butchers  of  the  race,  whilst  its  benefactors 
are  forgotten. 

"The  inventor  of  a  spinning-jenny,"  says  Carlyle, 
"is  pretty  sure  of  his  reward  in  his  own  day;  but  the 
writer  of  a  true  poem,  like  the  apostle  of  a  true  reli- 
gion, is  nearly  as  sure  of  the  contrary." 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  persons  who  will  find 
matter  for  wholesome  thought  in  the  history  of  a  man 
whose  record  is  without  stain,  whose  purposes  were 
benevolent,  and  all  of  whose  aims  were  to  strengthen 
faith  in  those  doctrines  without  which  human  nature 
has  but  a  material  and  animal  value,  and  life  no 
sacredness.  The  sympathy  which  I  could  not  but 
feel  with  the  subject  of  m)'  work  I  cannot  look  upon 
as  an  obstacle  to  its  right  performance.  As  sympathy 
is  one  of  the  chief  agencies  in  developing  the  nobler 
and  better  qualities  of  human  nature,  it  also  gives  the 
truest  insight  into  character. 


vi  Preface. 

What  my  partiality  may  have  caused  me  to  see  in 
a  light  too  favorable  will  receive  a  more  correct  color- 
ing" from  the  calmer  judgment  of  my  readers — At 
mihi  71U71C  narraturo  viia7n  defuncti  hominis,  venia 
opus  fuit. 


CONTENTS. 


PAca 

CHAPTER  I. 

Ancestry — Parentage — Birth — Early  Education,  .        .        .        .11 

CHAPTER  H. 

Professor  at  St.  Mary's  College — Enters  the  Seminary  at  Bards- 
town — Is  Sent  to  Rome, .23 

CHAPTER  HI. 
Student  Life  in  Rome, .  .        .       36 

CHAPTER  IV. 

X,ast  Year  in  Rome — Public  Defence  of  Theses  for  the  Doctor's 

Cap ....       43 

CHAPTER  V. 

Ordained  Priest — Returns  Home — Is  made  Pastor  of  the  Cathe- 
dral IN  Bardstown — Professor  in  the  Seminary — The  "  Mi- 
nerva,"        61 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  "  Catholic  Advocate  " — Religious  Journalism — Efforts  to 

Extend  its  Influence, 71 

CHAPTER  VII. 

President  of  St.  Joseph's  College — Pastor  of  St.  Peter's  Church, 

in  Lexington — Diocese  of  Nashville, 83 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Dr.    Spalding    is    appointed    Vicar  General  —  The     Louisville 

"League" — His  Labors  as  a  Lecturer  and  Preacher,       .        ,      95 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Popular  Objections  to  the  Church — Dr.  Spalding's  Manner  of 

Answering  them, 106 


S  Co7itents. 


PAGE 

CHAPTER  X. 

Appointed  Bishop  of  Lengone,  in  Part.  Infid.,  and  Coadjutor  of 
Bishop  Flaget — Death  of  Bishop  Flaget — State  of  the  Dio- 
cese at  the  Time  of  Dr.  Spalding's  Consecration,     .         .         .     II& 

CHAPTER  XL 

State  of  the  Diocese,  continued — Bishop  Spalding's  first  Visi- 
tation— The  Early  Catholics  of  Kentucky,     ....     131 

CHAPTER  Xn. 

Retreat  of  the  Clergy — Building  of  the  Cathedral  in  Louis- 
ville— Division  of  the  Diocese — The  First  Plenary  Council 
of  Baltimore — Desire  to  secure  the  Services  of  a  teaching 
Brotherhood,  .        .        . 144 

CHAPTER  XHL 

Visit  to  Europe — The  Xaverian  Brothers — The  American  Col- 
lege at  Luuvain, 15S 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Religion  and    Nationalism — The    Know-Nothing    Conspiracy — 

"  Bloody  Monday," 174 

CHAPTER  XV. 
The  '"  Miscellanea  " — Controversy  with  Professor  Morse,   .         .     188. 

CHAPTER  XVL 

The   Provincial    Councils   of   Cincinnati — The    Common-School 

System 260 

CHAPTER  XVH. 

Diocesan  Affairs — Traits  of  Character — Correspondence  with 

Archbishop  Kenrick, 216 

CHAPTER  XVHL 

History  of  the  Reformation — Views  on  the  Duties  of  Ecclesi- 
astics in  their  Relations  with  the  Siate — Episcopal  Labors,     230 

CHAPTER  XLX. 

The  Civil  War  and  the  Church  in  Kentucky — State  of  the  Dio- 
cese of  Louisville — Bishop  Spalding  is  appointed  to  the  See 
OF  Baltimore 244 


Contenis.  9 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Archbishop  Spalding  takes  Possession  of  His  New  Charge — Sum- 
mary OF  Important  Facts  in  the  History  of  the  Archdiocese 
OF  Baltimore, 257 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Archbishop  Spalding's  First  Works  in  the  Diocese  of  Baltimore 
— The  Syllabus — The  Sixth  Synod  of  Baltimore — Corre- 
spondence on  Various  Subjects, 269 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  Suffering  People  of  the  South — The  Diocese  of  Charles- 
ton— The  Catholic  Protectory — Sermon  at  the  University 
of  Notre  Dame 285, 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
The  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore, 298 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  continued— Appointment 

of  Bishops— Parochial  Rights— Catholic  University,      .        .     310 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
The  Pa^t,  the  Present,  and  the  Future, 321 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  Emancipated  Slaves— The  Catholic   Publication  Society— 

The  Centenary  of  the  Martyrdom  of  St.  Peter,      .        .        .     337 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Travels  in   Europe — Ireland — Progress  of  the  Church   in   the 

Archdiocese  of  Baltimore— The  American  College  in  Rome,      350 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

The  Dangers  that  Threaten  the  Destruction  of  our  Free  Insti- 
tutions— The  Remedy — The  Craving  for  Sensuous  Indul- 
gence,          362- 

CHAPTER   XXIX. 

Death  of  the  Very  Rev.  B.  J.  Spalding— Visit.-^tion  of  the  Dio- 
cese—The Little  Sisters  of  itie  Poor— The  Vatican  Council,     374. 


lo  Contents. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

The  Vatican  Council — The  Postulatum  of  Archbishop  Spalding 

— Letter  to  Bishop  Dupanloup, 387 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

The  Definition  of  Papal  Infallibility  not  only  Opportune,  but 
Necessary — Devotion  of  the  American  Church  to  the  Holy 
See 404 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

The  Manner  in  which  the  Discussions  of  the  Vatican  Council 
WERE  Conducted — The  Infallibility  of  the  Pope — Liberty 
and  Liberalism — Tour  in  Switzerland 416 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

The  Sacrilegious  Invasion  of  Rome — Archbishop  Spalding  Re- 
turns Home — His  Reception  in  Baltimore  and  Washington 
City — A  Retrospect, 43° 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
JLast  Illness  and  Death  of  Archbishop  Spalding,     ....    449 


Index, 461 


Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ANCESTRY.— PARENTAGE.— BIRTH. — EARLY    EDUCATION. 

HE  ancestors  of  Martin  John  Spalding  belonged 
to  the  band  of  Catholic  Pilgrims  who,  fleeing 
from  religious  persecution  in  England,  founded 
the  Maryland  Colony  in  1634,  fourteen  years 
after  the  landing  of  the  Puritans  at  Plymouth. 

If  the  Spaldings  were  not  among  the  two  hundred  families 
■who  came  over  with  Lord  Baltimore  in  1634,  they  certainly 
arrived  in  Maryland  very  soon  after  the  first  settlement  had 
been  made.  In  a  letter  on  this  subject,  written  in  1871, 
Archbishop  Spalding  says  : 

"  It  is  certain  that  the  Spaldings  of  Maryland  were  fully 
-established  in  St.  Mary's  County  before  the  year  1650;  for 
deeds  and  other  papers  of  that  date  in  their  name  are  still 
found  in  Leonardtown ;  though,  if  I  mistake  not,  an  acci- 
dent of  fire  destroyed  some  of  the  documents.  I  incline  to 
think  that  they  came  some  years  before  this  date,  proba- 
bly in  the  early  commencement  of  the  colony,  very  shortly 
after  the  arrival  of  the  first  ship  of  emigrants.  ...  I 
believe  that  the  headquarters  of  the  family  in  England,  was 
Lincolnshire,  where  one  of  them  at  a  very  early  period 
founded  and  gave  his  name  to  the  great  Abbey  of  Spalding, 
one  of  the  thirteen  great  abbeys  of  England  spared  by 
Henry  VIII.,  but  confiscated  under  his  son,  Edward  VI.      I 


12  Life  of  A7'chbishop  Spalding. 

think,  from  my  researches,  and  from  whatever  knowledge  I 
may  have  in  such  matters,  that  the  town  of  Spalding  grew  up' 
around  and  under  the  fostering  influence  of  this  abbe}\"* 

Archbishop  Spalding's  ancestors  were  not  all  of  English 
origin  ;  for  through  his  great-grandmother,  Ellen  O'Brian,. 
he  received  a  tinge  of  Celtic  blood,  to  which  he  was  very 
fond  of  alluding. 

Ellen  O'Brian  was  a  woman  of  strong  character  and. 
of  more   than   ordinary  intelligence.     She   married  Samuel 

*  The  town  of  Spalding  existed  already  in  the  reign  of  Ethelbald,  A.D. 
716-757;  for  in  Ethelbald's  foundation-charter  for  the  Monastery  of  Crow- 
land,  its  lands  are  said  to  extend  in  one  direction  "  usque  cedificid  Spaldeling."^ 
The  name  is  most  probably  of  Anglo-Saxon  origin. 

As  a  patronymic,  the  name  has  existed  from  an  early  period  in  English 
history,  as  the  following  citations  will  show : 

"  Henry  de  Walpol  sold  lands  by  deed,  sans  date,  to  John  de  Spalding. 
(Burgess  of  Lenn),  in  Tyrington,  and  sealed,  as  by  his  deed  appears,  with  a 
Fesse   between  two  Chevrons,  about  51   Henry  HI."    (a.d.    1267). — Collins 
Peerage,  vol.  v.  p.  32. 

"West  Hall  Manor,  Denver,  Norfolk.  In  ninth  of  Edward  H.  (a.d.  1316)/ 
Peter  de  Spalding  was  Lord,  and  presented  to  the  Meediet}'  of  St.  Michael's 
of  Denver  as  Lord  of  this  Manor." — Bhmfield's  History  of  the  County  of 
N'orfolk,  England,  vol.  vii.  p.  316. 

Blomfield  also  says :  "  Peter  Spalding  sold  his  part  or  Manor  (haying 
enfranchised  several  villeins)  to  Sir  John  Howard,  the  elder,"  vol.  ix.  p.  87. 

In  1318,  Sir  Pierce  Spalding  commanded  Berwick  Castle,  and  delivered  it 
up  to  the  Earl  of  Murray.     In  Blomfield's  Histoiy  of  the  County  of  JVotfolk^ 
town  of  Brockdish,  there  is  a  description  of  the  church:  "In  1518,  Henry 
Bakenham  was   buried   in   this  church,  as   were  many   of  the    Spaldings^ 
Withes,  Howards,  Grices,  Tendrings,  and  Lawrences,  families  of  distinction 
in  tliis  town."     The  Maryland  Spaldings  were  related  to  at  least  one  branch 
of  the  Fenwicks,  an  old  English  Catholic  family  which  came  over  with  Lord 
Baltimore,  and  has  given  to  the  church  in  this  country  two  bishops  and 
several   zealous  priests.      Mother  Catherine    Spalding,  first  mother  of  the 
Sisters  of  Charity  of  Nazareth,  K3'.,  and  foundress  of  the  orphan  asylum  in 
Louisville,  and  Mother  Hardey,  Assistant-General  ol  the  Order  of  the  Sacred' 
Heart,  whose  mother  was  a  Spalding,  both  belong  to  the  Maryland  branch 
of  the  family. 


A7icestry.  13 

Abell,  a  Protestant,  who  was  high-sheriff  of  St.  Mary's 
County  at  a  time  when  a  Catholic  could  not  hold  office 
without  taking  the  test  oath,  which  was  equivalent  to 
renouncing  his  faith.  He  allowed  his  wife  to  bring  up  her 
daughters  in  her  own  faith,  but  strongly  protested  against 
any  attempt  to  make  Catholics  of  his  sons.  The  Assembly- 
had,  in  1704,  passed  a  new  law,  entitled  *'  An  act  to  prevent 
the  increase  of  Popery  in  the  province,"  which  forbade 
bishops  and  priests  to  say  Mass  or  exercise  any  of  the 
functions  of  their  ministry,  and  thus  suppressed  all  public 
Catholic  worship.  Samuel  Abell,  therefore,  had  little 
opportunity  to  know  whether  or  not  his  sons  held  the 
faith  of  their  mother.  He,  of  course,  took  it  for  granted 
that  they  would  be  too  wise  to  unite  themselves  with  a 
church  which  was  persecuted  and  despised.  When  his 
oldest  son,  Philip,  had  grown  to  manhood,  he  took  him  to 
Leonardtown,  to  have  him  sworn  in  as  deputy  sheriff. 
What  was  his  surprise  when  Philip  refused  downright  to. 
take  the  oath,  saying  publicly  before  the  whole  court  that 
it  would  choke  him.  However,  there  was  no  remedy.  The 
blood  of  Ellen  O'Brian  was  strong  in  the  boy,  and  the 
father,  finding  that  neither  threats  nor  persuasion  would 
move  him  from  his  set  purpose,  finally  consented  to  let 
him  have  his  way ;  and  he  himself  gradually  lost  his  preju- 
dices, and  on  his  death-bed  sent  for  a  priest,  and  died  in 
communion  with  the  church. 

Robert,  another  son  of  Samuel  Abell,  moved  to  Kentucky 
in  1788,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  which  framed 
the  State  constitution,  and  the  only  Catholic  in  that  body. 
As  in  those  days  log-cabins  were  the  best  hotels  the  com- 
monwealth could  provide,  Robert  Abell,  during  the  ses- 
sions of  the  convention,  occupied  the  same  room  with  Fe- 
lix Grundy,  a  well-known  lawN'cr  of  Kentuck)^  and  another 
delegate  who  had  been  a  Presbyterian  preacher. 


14  Life  of  ArchbisJwp  Spalding. 

Each  member  had  the  right  to  present  to  the  conven- 
tion a  draught  of  the  constitution  which  he  wished  to  see 
adopted,  and  those  provisions  which  should  meet  with  the 
approval  of  a  majority  of  the  members  were  to  become  a 
part  of  the  law  of  the  land.  One  day,  the  ex-preacher  read 
to  his  two  companions  a  clause  which  he  had  inserted  in  his 
draught,  which  ran  as  follows  :  "  And  be  it  further  pro- 
vided, that  no  Papist  or  Roman  Catholic  shall  hold  any 
office  of  profit  or  trust  in  this  commonwealth,"  Felix 
Grundy  at  once  took  his  pen,  and  placed  the  following  clause 
in  the  draught  which  he  proposed  to  present  to  the  conven- 
tion :  "  And  be  it  also  provided,  that  no  broken-down 
Presbyterian  preacher  shall  be  eligible  to  any  office  in  this 
commonwealth."  The  preacher  was  converted,  and  the 
constitution  of  Kentucky  placed  no  restriction  upon  reli- 
gious liberty.* 

Alethia  Abell,  the  sister  of  Robert,  and  the  daughter  of 
Ellen  O'Brian,  was  the  grandmother  of  Martin  Spalding. 

His  grandfather,  Benedict  Spalding,  brought  out  a  colony 
of  Catholics  from  St.  Mary's  County  in  Maryland,  in  1790, 
and  settled  in  Central  Kentucky,  in  the  valley  of  a  small 
river  called  the  Rolling  Fork.  No  Catholics  are  known  to 
have  emigrated  to  Kentucky  before  1775.  In  that  year,. 
William  Coomes,  with  his  family  and  Dr.  Hart,  both  Catho- 
lics, settled  in  Harrod's  Station,  which  was  then,  with  the 
exception  of  one  or  two  small  forts,  the  only  place  in  the 
"  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground  "  where  a  white  man  could  call 
his  scalp  his  own.  The  first  Catholic  colony  which  came  out 
to  Kentucky  was  that  which  accompanied  the  Haydons  and 
Lancasters  in  1785.  This  colony  settled  in  and  around 
Bardstown,  which  then  became  and  for  many  years  re- 
mained the  centre  of  Catholicity  in  the  State.     The  chief 

*  This  incident  was  related  to  a  son  of  Robert  Abell  by  Felix  Grandj 
himself. 


Pareiitaoe.  i  £ 


"ii 


causes  which  determined  the  CathoHcs  of  Maryland  to  seek 
what  was  then  the  "  far  West "  were  the  hope  of  finding  a 
more  healthy  climate  and  a  soil  which  would  better  remu- 
nerate them  for  their  toil.  The  report  made  by  the  pioneer 
colony  awakened  a  greater  desire  in  those  who  remained 
behind  to  emigrate,  and  other  colonies  came  out  in  1786, 
1787,  and  1788.  The  Archbishop's  grandfather,  as  I  have 
stated,  removed  to  Kentucky  in  1790.  He  had  married 
Alethia  Abell  in  Maryland.  God  blessed  them,  with  six 
sons  and  six  daughters,  all  of  whom  grew  up  to  be  men  and 
women,  married,  and,  with  a  single  exception,  lived  to  be- 
quite  old.  Their  descendants  constitute  to-day  one  of  the 
most  numerous  families  in  Kentucky. 

Richard  Spalding,  the  eldest  son  of  Benedict,  was  the 
father  of  the  Archbishop.  He  was  born  in  St.  Mary's 
County,  Maryland,  and  came  to  Kentucky  with  his  father 
He  w^as  thrice  married,  and  by  these  unions  became  the 
father  of  twenty-one  children.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  senso, 
of  great  industry  and  perseverance,  and,  in  spite  of  his  nu- 
merous family,  to  which  he  gave  the  best  education  it 
was  possible  to  obtain  in  Kentucky  in  that  day,  he  became 
wealthy. 

The  Archbishop's  mother  was  Henrietta  Hamilton,  who 
was  also  born  in  Maryland,  having  come  out  to  Kentucky 
with  her  father,  Leonard  Hamilton,  in  1791,  when  still  a 
mere  child. 

When  Father  Badin  arrived,  in  1794,  he  estimated  the 
Catholic  population  of  the  State  at  three  hundred  families. 
Among  the  first  stations  which  he  attended  for  the  purpose 
of  saying  Mass  and  administering  the  sacrament  was  the 
one  on  the  Rolling  Fork,  near  where  Archbishop  Spalding's 
grandfather  and  father  were  then  living.  A  little  later,  in 
1797,  Father  Fournier,  another  French  priest,  who  had 
come  to  the  assistance  of  Father  Badin,  bought  a  hundred 


1 6  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

acres  of  ground  in  this  neighborhood,  and  built  there  a  log- 
cabin,  of  which  he  took  possession  in  1798.  Holy  Mary's 
Convent  of  Lorettine  Nuns  now  stands  on  this  spot. 

Kentucky  was  in  that  day  covered  with  dense  forests  and 
tangled  woods.  There  was  scarcely  a  place  in  its  whole 
territory  that  might  be  dignified  with  the  name  of  village, 
and  the  only  roads  were  the  almost  untrodden  paths  of  the 
forest,  on  either  side  of  which  lines  of  blazed  trees  showed 
the  traveller  the  route  from  point  to  point. 

The  forests  were  filled  with  a  luxuriant  undergrowth, 
thickly  interspersed  with  cane  and  briers,  which  the  inter- 
twining wild  pea-vine  wove  into  an  almost  impenetrable 
net-work ;  so  that,  in  certain  parts,  the  only  way  of  getting 
from  place  to  place  was  to  follow  the  paths  worn  by  the 
migrating  buffalo  and  other  wild  beasts.  The  Indian  still 
hunted  on  the  "  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground,"  or  prowled 
about  the  new  settlements,  ready  to  attack  them  whenever 
an  opportunity  was  offered.  It  has  been  stated  on  good 
authority  that,  from  1783  to  1790,  fifteen  hundred  persons 
were  killed  or  made  captive  by  the  Indians  in  Kentucky, 
or  in  migrating  thither.* 

In  1794,  the  Indians  appeared  on  the  Rolling  Fork,  and 
killed  a  Catholic  by  the  name  of  Buckman.  This  produced 
a  panic  in  the  little  settlement  which  caused  many  Catholics 
to  move  for  a  time  to  Bardstown,  where  the  population  was 
more  dense.  But  Benedict  Spalding  remained  at  home,  and 
the  Indians  disappeared  without  committing  further  outrage. 

The  early  emigrants  to  Kentucky  had  to  endure  all  the 
hardships  incident  to  pioneer  life.  Even  the  ordinary  com- 
forts were  not  to  be  had  in  the  wilderness  in  which  they 
had  taken  up  their  abode,  and  they  not  unfrequently  suf- 
fered the  want  of  the  most  indispensable  necessaries.     To 

*  Judge  Jones,  of  Kentucky,  states  this   in  a  letter  written  to  Secretary 
Knox,  July  7,  1790. 


Parentage.  1 7 

obtain  salt,  they  had  to  go  to  the  Licks,  travelling  often 
many  miles  through  a  country  infested  by  savages.  They 
dwelt  in  rudely  constructed  log-cabins,  the  windows  of 
which  were  without  glass,  whilst  the  floors  were  of  dirt, 
or,  in  the  better  sort  of  dwellings,  of  rough-hewn  boards. 
After  the  clothing  which  they  had  brought  from  Virginia 
and  Maryland  became  unfit  for  use,  the  men,  for  the  most 
part,  wore  buckskin  and  the  women  homespun  gowns.  The 
furniture  of  the  cabins  was  of  an  equally  simple  kind. 
Stools  did  the  office  of  chairs,  the  tables  were  made  of 
rough  boards,  whilst  wooden  vessels  served  instead  of  plates 
and  china-ware.  A  tin  cup  was  an  article  of  luxury.  The 
chase  supplied  abundance  of  food.  All  kinds  of  game 
abounded,  and,  when  the  hunter  had  his  rifle  and  a  goodly 
supply  of  ammunition,  he  was  rich  as  a  prince.  This  was 
the  school  in  which  was  trained  the  Kentucky  rifleman, 
whose  aim  on  the  battle-field  was  certain  death.  The  game 
was  plainly  dressed  and  served  up  on  wooden  platters,  and, 
with  corn-bread  and  hominy,  it  made  a  feast  which  the 
keen  appetite  of  honest  labor  and  free-heartedness  thought 
good  enough  for  kings. 

"  Vivitur  parvo  bene,  cui  paternum 
Splendet  in  mensa  tenui  salinum 
Xec  leves  somnos  timor  aut  cupido 
Sordidus  aufert." 

"  Such  was  the  simple  manner  of  life,"  said  Archbishop 
Spalding,  "  of  our  '  Pilgrim  Fathers.'  They  had  fewer 
luxuries,  but  were,  withal,  perhaps  happier  than  their  more 
fastidious  descendants.  Hospitality  was  not  then  an  empty 
name.  Every  log-cabin  was  freely  thrown  open  to  all  who 
chose  to  share  in  the  best  cheer  its  inmates  could  afford. 
The  early  settlers  of  Kentucky  were  bound  together  by 
the  strong  ties  of  common  hardships  and  dangers,  to   say 


1 8  Life  of  Ai'chbishop  Spalding. 

nothing  of  other  bonds  of  union,  and  they  clung  together 
with  great  tenacity.  On  the  shghtest  alarm  of  Indian  in- 
vasion, they  made  common  cause,  and  flew  to  the  rescue^ 
There  was  less  selfishness  and  more  generous  chivalry,  less 
bickering  and  more  cordial  charity,  then  than  now,  not- 
withstanding all  our  boasted  refinement."  * 

Old  men  love  to  praise  the  bygone  age,  when  they  were 
boys,  by  a  sweet  reversion  to  childhood,  forgetting  the  evil' 
and  remembering  only  the  good  of  the  morning  of  life  : 
and  all  find  a  certain  pleasure  in  carping  at  the  present  by 
contrasting  it  with  the  seeming  more  perfect  past.  But 
making  allowance  for  this  proneness  of  our  nature,  there 
was  doubtless  in  the  society  of  those  early  days  in  Ken- 
tucky rare  beauty  and  goodness.  The  men  were  brave  and 
honest,  the  women  were  pure  and  gentle ;  and  these  virtues 
sat  so  naturally  upon  them  that  they  seemed  unconscious 
of  them,  as  not  contemplating  a  contrary  state.  They 
sometimes  lent  money  without  note  or  witness,  and  this 
implicit  trust  to  what  is  best  in  human  nature  was  rarely 
ever  betrayed.  They  were  truly  hospitable,  they  were 
kind-hearted,  and  they  loved  liberty  in  the  highest  sense  of 
the  word. 

This  state  of  primitive  republican  society  had  not  yet 
disappeared  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of  Martin  John  Spald- 
ing, which  took  place  on  the  23d  of  May,  18 10.  He  was 
born  on  the  Rolling  Fork,  in  sight  of  the  farm  on  which 
his  grandfather  had  settled  upon  his  arrival  in  Kentucky 
twenty  years  before  this  date.  He  was  baptized  by  Fa- 
ther Nerincks,  of  whose  apostohcal  life  and  labors  he  was 
destined  to  become  the  historian.  He  was  a  frail,  delicate 
child,  and  so  subject  to  frequent  attacks  of  sickness  that  it 
was  not  thought  he  could  long  survive.     His  mother,  who- 

*  Sketches  of  Kentucky,  p.  33. 


Birth.  19 

was  noted  for  the  purity  and  gentleness  of  her  character, 
and  whom  he  very  much  resembled,  both  in  feature  and 
disposition,  manifested,  probably  on  account  of  his  weak  and 
suffering  condition,  greater  tenderness  for  him  than  for  her 
other  children.  She  always  called  him  her  little  bishop. 
He  had  the  great  misfortune  to  lose  her  when  but  five 
or  six  years  old.  After  her  death,  he  was  confided  to 
the  care  of  his  oldest  sister,  who  was  still  a  mere  girl.  She 
was  assisted  in  the  performance  of  her  responsible  duties  by 
the  wise  counsel  of  her  grandmother,  Alethia  Spalding,  the 
daughter  of  Samuel  Abell  and  Ellen  O'Brian. 

Alethia  Spalding  was  remarkable  both  for  great  beauty 
and  for  great  holiness.  Even  Protestants  thought  her  a 
saint ;  and  Father  Badin,  who  knew  her  well,  used  to  say» 
after  her  death,  that  she  was  certainly  in  heaven. 

In  those  days,  when  Mass  was  said  at  the  different  stations', 
only  once  a  month,  or  at  most  once  in  two  weeks,  she  was- 
in  the  habit,  whenever  the  priest  was  absent  from  Holy 
•Mary's,  of  going  on  horseback  a  distance  of  six  or  eight 
miles  to  Lebanon,  to  assist  at  the  holy  sacrifice  there.  On 
these  occasions,  she  always  took  one  of  her  grandchildren, 
frequently  Martin,  behind  her  on  her  little  gray  mare  ;  and 
she  never  failed  to  sanctify  the  journey  by  reciting  the 
rosary  with  her  little  travelling  companion. 

Of  the  seven  children  of  Richard  Spalding  who  had  the 
example  of  her  virtues  so  constantly  before  their  eyes,  two- 
became  priests,  and  two  took  the  veil  in  the  Convent  of 
Loretto. 

Bishop  Carroll  wrote  of  the  early  Catholic  colonists  of 
Kentucky  that  they  were  in  general  good,  and  that  some  of 
them  were  eminent  in  virtue. 

Their  religious  character  was  certainly  earnest  and  pro- 
found. They  were  not  puritanical,  which  Catholics,  I  be- 
lieve, never  are  ;  but  their  faith  was  strong  and  healthful,. 


20  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

and  their  attachment  to  Cathohc  truth  unwavering.  As  an 
instance  of  this,  I  may  state  that,  towards  the  close  of  the 
last  century,  when  it  seemed  impossible  to  get  priests  to 
remain  in  Kentucky,  many  of  the  Catholic  colonists  deter- 
mined to  remove  to  Missouri,  induced  by  the  offer  of  the 
Spanish  governor  to  secure  them  the  opportunity  of  comply- 
ing with  their  religious  obligations.  A  committee  had  been 
appointed,  and  had  gone  to  St.  Louis  to  confer  with  the 
governor,  when  Bishop  Carroll  finally  succeeded  in  sending 
a  priest  to  Kentucky,  which  led  to  the  abandonment  of  the 
project  of  removing  the  colony  to  Missouri.  Their  solici- 
tude to  preserve  the  faith  of  their  children  was  equally 
great,  evidences  of  which  may  be  seen  in  the  Catholic 
schools  and  colleges  which  they  founded  and  supported, 
-and  in  the  care  with  which  they  avoided  mixed  marriages. 
Of  the  twelve  children  of  Benedict  Spalding,  all  of  whom 
married,  not  one,  in  the  first  instance,  married  a  Protestant. 

Their  opposition  to  intermarrying  with  Protestant  fami- 
lies led  them  not  unfrequently  to  approve  of  the  marriage 
of  blood  relations,  as  the  lesser  of  two  evils.  Their  objec- 
tion to  mixed  marriages  did  not  proceed  from  any  unfriendly 
feeling  towards  Protestants,  which  did  not  exist,  but  from 
the  conviction  that  difference  of  faith  in  the  father  and 
mother  could  not  but  have  a  bad  effect  upon  the  religious 
character  of  the  children. 

Martin  Spalding  was  sent  to  school,  when  about  eight 
-years  old,  to  a  Mr.  Merrywether,  whose  college  was  a  log- 
cabin  in  the  backwoods  near  the  Rolling  Fork. 

His  earliest  intellectual  feat  was  learning  the  multiplica- 
tion-table in  a  single  day  when  but  eight  years  old.  He 
was  even  then  as  remarkable  for  the  sweetness  of  his  dispo- 
sition as  for  the  quickness  of  his  mind.  He  made  his  first 
communion  when  only  ten  years  old,  which  is  worthy  of 
cremark   when   we   consider  that   he   had    never    been   to   a 


Early  Education.  21 

Catholic  school,  and  had  but  on  rare  occasions  received  in- 
struction from  a  priest. 

The  )'ear  in  which  he  made  his  first  communion,  1820, 
was  the  one  in  which  the  first  Catholic  college  was  founded 
in  Kentucky.  This  was  St.  Joseph's  College,  at  Bards- 
town. 

The  year  following,  the  Rev.  William  Byrne  opened  St. 
Mary's  College,  near  Lebanon,  and  among  the  very  first 
students  who  entered  that  institution  were  Martin  Spalding 
and  his  two  older  brothers.  The  founding  of  St.  Mary's 
College  is  an  instance  of  what  energy  and  zeal  may  enable 
God's  priest  to  accomplish.  When  the  project  first  pre- 
sented itself  to  Father  Byrne's  mind,  he  had  neither  men 
nor  money,  and  without  these  it  was  not  thought  possible 
to  establish  a  college.  But  he  was  a  man  to  whom  nothing 
that  was  right  seemed  impossible.  "  Viam  aut  inveniam 
aut  faciam,"  was  his  motto,  and  his  faith  in  God  and  in  the 
power  of  labor  gave  him  strength  to  triumph  over  difficul- 
ties which  would  have  appalled  weaker  and  less  believ- 
ing men.  He  bought  a  farm,  on  which  stood  an  old  stone- 
distillery.  To  pay  for  this,  he  asked  contributions  from  the 
Catholics  of  the  country,  and  since  they  had  but  little 
money,  he  took  produce  or  whatever  they  were  able  to 
give,  which,  with  great  delay  and  difficulty,  he  converted, 
into  cash. 

The  next  step  was  to  transform  the  old  distillery  into  an 
academy  of  learning.  He  himself  put  his  hand  to  the  work, 
and  became  carpenter  or  mason  as  circumstances  demanded. 
When  everything  was  in  readiness,  he  offered  to  furnish 
education  in  return  for  wheat,  corn,  and  bacon.  This  plan,, 
which  was  perfectly  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  commu- 
nity, could  not  fail  of  success.  When  at  length,  in  the  early 
spring  of  1821,  the  anxiously  expected  day  for  the  opening 
of  St.  Mary's  Seminary  arrived,  it  was  filled  to  overflowing. 


22  Life  of  AixhbisJiop  Spalding. 

Father  Byrne  was    president,  disciplinarian,    prefect,    trea- 
surer, and  professor. 

The  seminary  soon  became  known  for  its  strict  discipline 
and  the  moral  and  literary  advancement  of  its  pupils,  and, 
in  consequence,  it  grew  in  public  favor. 

Father  Byrne  had  paid  his  debts,  and  had  nearly  com- 
pleted another  building  for  the  accommodation  of  a  greater 
number  of  students,  when,  during  his  absence  in  Louisville, 
the  college  was  consumed  by  fire. 

"  We  well  remember,"  says  Archbishop  Spalding,  in  his 
Sketches  of  Kentucky,  "  the  sadness  which  sat  upon  his 
brow  when  the  next  day  he  rode  into  the  enclosure  and 
beheld  the  smouldering  ruins  of  what  had  cost  him  years 
•of  anxious  toil.  Yet  the  suddenness  of  the  shock  did  not 
unnerve  him — it  gave  him  new  energy.  In  a  few  short 
imonths,  St.  Mary's  Seminary  rose  from  its  ashes  fresher  and 
more  beautiful  than  before." 

A  second  time  St.  Mary's  was  burned  to  the  ground,  and 
again  Father  Byrne  rebuilt  it,  and  finally  succeeded  in  plac- 
ing it  on  a  firm  and  enduring  foundation.  In  his  difficul- 
ties. Father  Byrne  found  a  warm  friend  in  Richard  Spalding, 
the  father  of  the  Archbishop,  who  was  very  desirous  of  pro- 
curing for  his  children  a  good  education.  He  offered  to 
give  Father  Byrne  one  hundred  acres  of  ground,  and  other- 
wise to  assist  him,  if  he  would  remove  the  college  to  Holy 
Mary's  ;  but  Bishop  Flaget  did  not  think  it  advisable  to 
change  the  location. 


CHAPTER   11. 

PROFESSOR    AT    ST.    MARY'S   COLLEGE — ENTERS   THE   SEMI- 
NARY  AT   BARDSTOWN — IS   SENT   TO   ROME. 

ARTIN  SPALDING  was  Father  Byrne's  favorite 
pupil.  When  the  college  was  destroyed  by  fire, 
Martin  did  not  return  home  with  his  brothers, 
but  continued  his  studies  with  Father  Byrne, 
and,  upon  the  reopening  of  the  school,  he  was  made  profes- 
sor of  mathematics,  though  he  was  but  fourteen  years  old. 
He  was  at  this  time  a  slender,  delicate  boy,  soft  and  gentle 
as  a  girl,  and  to  a  remarkably  bright  and  quick  mind  added 
a  disposition  so  sweet  that  no  one  could  help  loving  him. 
He  soon  became  quite  famous  as  professor  of  mathematics, 
and  Father  Byrne  was  persuaded  that  no  problem  could  be 
proposed  to  him  which  he  would  not  be  able  to  solve.  He 
made  this  boast  to  the  county  surveyor,  who,  in  reply,  said 
that  he  thought  he  could  give  Martin  a  question  in  survey- 
ing which  would  puzzle  him.  Father  Byrne  desired  that 
the  proficiency  of  his  youthful  professor  should  be  put  to 
the  test,  and  the  problem  was  accordingly  proposed.  Mar- 
tin asked  for  time  to  consider  it,  and  in  a  short  while  re- 
turned with  the  answer. 

A  certain  Mr.  Dougherty,  who  was  at  this  time  professor 
of  mathematics  in  St.  Joseph's  College,  had  great  contempt 
for  the  reputation  of  the  boy-professor  of  St.  Mary's,  and 
he  boasted  that  he  would  put  him  to  shame.  With  this 
view,  he  went  to  the  next  examination  at  St.  Mary's,  and 
proposed  questions  to  the  class  of  mathematics  which  he 
was  confident  not    even    the    professor  would   be   able   to 


24  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

solve.  But  Martin  each  time  came  to  the  rescue  of  his  stu- 
dents, and  triumphantly  explained  every  difficulty. 

Father  B}'rne  had  unbounded  admiration  for  Martin's 
talents,  and,  whenever  he  spoke  of  him,  he  grew  eloquent 
in  extolling  his  high  endowments.  The  great  highway  be- 
tween Louisville  and  Nashville  in  those  days  passed  within 
two  or  three  miles  of  St.  Mary's  College,  and  such  was,  as 
I  have  heard  from  the  lips  of  the  oldest  living  priest  in 
Kentucky,  the  reputation  which  Martin  had  gained,  that 
travellers  sometimes  went  out  of  their  way  to  see  this  won- 
derful boy-professor. 

His  friends  feared  lest  the  flattery  and  attention  which 
he  received  might  spoil  him  ;  and  that  he  came  out  of  this 
ordeal  unscathed  is  perhaps  one  of  the  greatest  proofs  of 
the  thorough  worth  and  genuine  strength  of  his  character. 
Success  and  applause  could  not  destroy  in  him  that  child- 
like simplicity  which  continued  through  life  to  be  one  of  his 
greatest  charms. 

When  he  left  Kentucky,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  to  go  to 
Rome,  there  was  probably  no  one  in  the  State  who  was 
superior  to  him  in  the  knowledge  of  mathematics  ;  and, 
though  he  never  after  paid  any  attention  to  this  science,  he 
never  ceased  to  be  ready  at  accounts,  and  quick  to  under- 
stand problems  in  which  mathematical  calculations  were 
involved.  As  a  student  at  St.  Mary's,  he  was  noted  for 
his  application  and  his  eager  desire  to  learn.  He  never 
allowed  others  to  assist  him  in  solving  the  difficulties  which 
presented  themselves,  but  wished  to  be  indebted  to  his  own 
industry  alone  for  his  triumph  over  them.  He  was  also,  as 
I  have  said,  distinguished  for  his  gentle  and  loving  disposi- 
tion. In  a  game  of  foot-ball,  Martin  had  unintentionally 
done  something  which  provoked  a  boy  much  larger  than 
himself  to  insult  him  and  to  threaten  to  strike  him.  One 
of  his  cousins  who  happened  to  be  standing  near  interfered. 


Enters  the  Seininary  at  Bardstown.  25 

and  was  on  the  point  of  punishing  the  boy,  when  Martin  at 
once  stopped  him,  saying  that  he  was  able  to  take  care  of 
himself,  and  that  he  could  not  upon  any  account  consent  to 
be  the  occasion  of  angry  words  or  blows.  The  person  who 
related  this  little  incident  to  me  added  that  the  noble  and 
Christian  bearing  of  Martin  Spalding  at  that  time  had  made 
an  impression  upon  him  which  the  lapse  of  many  years  had 
not  effaced. 

He  remained  five  years  at  St.  Mary's,  and  graduated  with 
great  honor  in  1826.  Though  but  sixteen  years  old,  he  had 
already  resolved  to  consecrate  his  life  to  the  service  of  God 
in  the  priesthood. 

He  spent  the  summer  vacations  at  home,  and  at  their 
close  he  entered  the  seminary  at  Bardstown  as  a  student  of 
theology. 

The  year  in  which  he  began  the  study  of  theology  is  one 
which  is  still  associated  with  the  happiest  memories  in  the 
minds  of  some  of  the  older  Catholics  of  Kentucky.  It  was 
the  year  of  grace,  the  year  of  the  great  Jubilee,  which,  pro- 
mulgated by  Leo  XH.  in  1825,  was  preached  in  Kentucky 
only  in  1826.  The  entire  Catholic  population  of  Kentucky 
seems  to  have  been  awakened  to  new  life  and  fervor  during 
this  holy  season.  The  priests  who  were  engaged  in  preach- 
ing this  Jubilee  drew  up  a  full  account  of  the  fruits  of  their 
labors,  which  they  transmitted  to  the  Association  of  the 
Propagation  of  the  Faith,  in  France. 

"  During  the  week  of  the  Jubilee,"  these  eye-witnesses 
relate,  "  all  temporal  affairs  seemed  to  be  forgotten,  and  only 
those  of  the  soul  were  attended  to.  As  the  greater  part  of 
the  Catholics  came  from  a  distance  of  eight,  ten,  or  twelve 
miles,  they  remamed  during  the  whole  day  in  the  church, 
without  leaving  it  even  for  a  moment,  except  to  take  a 
frugal  repast  on  the  grass  or  in  the  neighboring  wood.  Not 
only  did  the  laborers  and  farmers,  who  constituted  the  ma- 


26  Life  of  A^xhbishop  Spalding. 

jority  of  the  Catholics,  give  these  beautiful  examples  of 
religious  fervor,  but  persons  of  every  condition — merchants, 
physicians,  magistrates,  legislators — showed  themselves 
equally  eager  to  profit  by  the  graces  of  heaven.  Human 
respect,  so  powerful  under  other  circumstances,  had  given 
place  to  more  noble  sentiments,  and  all  seemed  eager  to 
■give  open  and  public  evidence  of  their  strong  attachment 
to  a  religion  which  was  the  only  source  of  their  consolation 
.and  their  happiness.  Such  was  the  edifying  spectacle  which 
Kentucky  presented  during  those  days  of  benediction. 
Perhaps  the  fruits  of  the  Jubilee  were  more  abundant  here 
than  in  any  other  part  of  the  Christian  world,  if  we  take 
into  account  the  small  number  of  Catholics  in  this  diocese." 

This  was  the  first  time  that  the  Catholics  of  the  great  West 
had  been  called  upon  to  unite  with  their  brethren  through- 
out Christendom  in  the  solemn  prayer  of  the  Jubilee,  and 
the  novelty  of  the  exercises  had  doubtless  something  to  do 
with  the  readiness  with  which  they  responded  to  the  voice 
of  the  Holy  Father ;  but,  apart  from  this,  we  cannot  but 
recognize  in  their  fervor  and  zeal  evidences  of  great 
religious  earnestness  and  of  true  piety.  The  heart  of  the 
venerable  Bishop  Flaget  was  touched  by  the  devotion  and 
good-will  of  his  people. 

"  With  what  pleasure,"  he  wrote,  "  have  I  entered  upon 
this  apostolic  career !  If  the  consolations  which  I  now 
feel,  go  on  increasing,  they  will  afford  me  happiness  enough 
for  this  life." 

The  Diocesan  Seminary,  in  Kentucky,  was  established  at 
St.  Thomas's  almost  immediately  after  the  arrival  of  Bishop 
Flaget  and  Father  David  ;  but  when  the  new  cathedral  was 
consecrated  in  1819,  it  was  removed  to  Bardstown,  the 
Bishop  wishing,  as  far  as  possible,  to  live  among  his  semi- 
narians as  a  father  in  his  family.  The  Sunday  following  the 
-dedication   of   the    cathedral,    Father   David    received   the 


Enters  the  Se^Jiinary  at  Bardstown.  27 

episcopal  consecration  at  the  hands  of  Bishop  Flaget,  and 
became  his  coadjutor.  The  two  bishops  had  rooms  in  the 
seminary  ;  they  ate  at  the  same  table  with  the  seminarians, 
and  took  part  in  all  the  exercises  of  the  community. 

The  day  after  the  opening  of  the  new  seminary,  Bishop 
Flaget  wrote  :  "  This  day  will  form  an  epoch  in  the  history 
of  the  church  in  Kentucky  ;  for  I  dare  hope  that  from  this 
house  will  go  forth  priests  who  will  sustain  and  propagate 
the  faith."  And  a  few  years  later,  when  this  hope  had  been 
in  part  fulfilled,  he  added  :  "  Many  priests  have  already 
been  reared  in  the  seminary,  and  their  piety  and  talents 
would  distinguish  them  even  in  Europe.  Some  of  them  are 
•excellent  preachers  and  very  good  controversialists." 

When  Martin  Spalding  entered  the  seminary,  in  1826,  he 
found  there  a  body  of  men  equal  to  any  in  the  church  of 
the  United  States  to-day. 

First  of  all,  there  was  Bishop  Flaget,  who,  though  not 
remarkable  for  theological  ability,  was  a  model  bishop,  and 
the  type  of  a  true  missionary.     He  had  a  heart  as  tender  as 
a  woman's,  and  a  character  so  perfectly  formed  after  the 
model   given  by   his    divine    Master    that  he  himself  was  a 
living   example   of    all   that  the   young   Levites   who   were 
gathered  at  his  feet  were  to  aspire  to.      The  master,  he  was 
as  the  servant ;    the   bishop,  he  was  in  garb  and  bearing  as 
his   humblest   priest.     When  he  spoke  to  them,   he  could, 
without  mockery,   bid  them    be    self-denying,  poverty-lov- 
ing, humble,  lowly  in  their  walk  ;  for  such   he  was.     The 
children  of  his  apostolic  love  grew  up  to  be  the  crown  and 
honor  of  his  old  age,  and  the  pride  of  the  church  of  Ken- 
tucky. 

Then  there  was  Bishop  David,  less  expansive  and  less 
demonstrative  of  affection  than  Bishop  Flaget,  but  a  man  of 
the  soundest  judgment  and  of  great  learning,  and,  above 
all,  a  thorough  disciplinarian.     Francis  Patrick  Kenrick  was 


28  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

also  there,  fresh  from  the  Propaganda,  already  then  the 
most  learned  theologian,  as  he  was  destined  afterwards  to 
become  the  brightest  ornament  of  the  American  Church. 
For  him  Martin  Spalding  at  once  conceived  the  highest 
admiration,  which  soon  ripened  into  a  friendship  which 
during  many  succeeding  years  remained  unshaken,  until,, 
when  his  early  friend  had  been  removed  to  a  better  world, 
he  was  destined  to  succeed  him  as  the  head  of  the  first  and 
oldest  see  of  the  United  States. 

There,  too,  was  Father  Reynolds,  afterwards  the  successor 
of  Bishop  England  in  the  see  of  Charleston — a  man  of  pro- 
found thought,  and  an  orator. 

The  Rev.  George  Elder,  the  founder  and  first  President 
of  St.  Joseph's  College,  whose  character  was  as  lovely  and 
gentle  as  his  mind  was  cultivated  and  refined,  completes 
the  group  of  remarkable  men  whom  Martin  Spalding  found 
at  Bardstown  in  1826. 

At  that  time,  the  seminary  was  connected  with  St. 
Joseph's  College,  and  the  seminarians  were  required  to 
teach  and  perform  other  duties  in  the  college.  Archbishop 
Spalding,  in  his  Life  of  Bishop  Flaget,  says  that  this  state 
of  things  had  its  advantages,  but  that  they  were  probably 
more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  inconveniences  neces- 
sarily attendant  upon  such  a  system.  The  vocations  of 
some  of  the  seminarians  were  shaken  by  this  intimate  con- 
tact with  youths  of  the  world,  while  scarcely  a  candidate 
for  the  ministry  was  obtained  from  among  those  who  were 
educated  in  the  college.  This,  of  course,  greatly  distressed 
Bishop  Flaget,  who  made  use  of  every  means  to  correct  the 
evil,  and  finally  established  at  St.  Thomas's  a  preparatory 
seminary  for  young  men  who  gave  indication  of  a  vocation 
to  the  ecclesiastical  state. 

Martin  Spalding  remained  in  Bardstown  four  years,  divid- 
ing his  time  between  the  study  of  philosophy  and  theology 


Is  sent  to  Rome.  29 

and  the  duties  of  a  professor  in  the  college.  He  soon 
proved  that  he  possessed  an  aptitude  for  theology  and  lan- 
guages scarcely  less  remarkable  than  that  which  he  had 
shown  for  mathematics  whilst  teaching  at  St.  Mary's.  His 
talents  and  exemplary  conduct  won  for  him  such  favor  in 
the  eyes  of  Bishop  Flaget  that,  at  the  end  of  four  years, 
he  determined  to  send  him  to  Rome  to  complete  his  theo- 
logical studies  in  the  Urban  College. 

After  the  high  privilege  of  a  vocation  to  the  priesthood, 
Martin  Spalding  deemed  it  the  most  fortunate  circumstance 
in  his  life  that  he  was  permitted  to  finish  his  theological 
education  in  the  Holy  City,  where  he  drank  in  all  the 
sacred  doctrines  and  traditions  of  the  Christian  religion  at 
their  fountain-head.  His  eagerness  to  go  to  Rome  was  in- 
creased by  his  admiration  of  Dr.  Kenrick,  who  had  studied 
there;  and  his  conversation,  and  the  glowing  pictures  which 
he  drew  of  the  advantages  offered  in  the  Eternal  City  to 
the  aspirant  to  theological  science,  helped  to  influence 
Bishop  Flaget  to  send  the  young  Kentuckian  to  the  Propa- 
ganda. 

The  clergy  of  the  diocese  of  Bardstown  were  not,  how- 
ever, of  one  opinion  concerning  the  advantages  of  a  Roman 
education.  Some  held  that  the  habits  of  thought  and 
action  which  young  Americans  would  be  likely  to  acquire 
during  a  course  of  studies  in  Rome  would  not  be  such  as 
to  fit  them  in  the  best  manner  for  fulfilling  with  success 
the  duties  of  missionaries  in  the  backwoods  of  Kentucky. 
From  this  opinion,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see  from  his  letters 
written  from  Rome,   Martin  Spalding  wholly  dissented. 

He  set  out  on  his  journey  to  Rome,  in  company  with 
James  Lancaster,  in  April,  1830. 

A  few  days  after  his  arrival  in  Baltimore,  he  wrote  the 
following  letter  to  his  father : 


30  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

"  Dear  Father: 

"  Your  parental  solicitude  makes  you  anxious,  I  am  sure, 
to  hear  from  a  son  whom  you  so  tenderly  love.  When  I 
left  you,  dear  father,  I  did  not  expect  to  go  to  Baltimore  ;. 
but  in  Louisville  we  met  with  Colonel  Brent,  a  former  mem- 
ber of  Congress  from  Louisiana,  who  was  on  his  way  tO' 
Washington  City,  and  who  informed  us  that  it  would  be 
safer  for  us  to  accompany  him  thither,  as  we  might  other- 
wise find  difficulty  in  obtaining  our  passports.  We  alsO' 
learned  from  him  that  Commodore  Porter  had  been  recently 
appointed  Minister  to  Algiers,  and  was  expected  in  a  short 
time  to  sail  out  to  the  Mediterranean  in  a  vessel  belonging 
to  the  navy,  in  which  we,  in  all  probability,  would  be  able 
to  obtain  passage  by  applying  at  Washington.  Since  our 
arrival  here,  John  Rowan  has  been  very  active  in  his  efforts 
to  obtain  this  favor  for  us,  and  Major  Barry  has  likewise 
taken  an  interest  in  the  matter.  Li  Washington,  we  were 
hospitably  entertained  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mathews;  and,, 
after  visiting  the  public  buildings,  we  left  for  Baltimore  in 
the  company  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes,  of  Philadelphia.  I 
conclude,  dear  father,  by  giving  expression  to  my  love  for 
you,  and  my  gratitude  for  the  great  regard  which  you  have 
ever  shown  for  my  true  welfare.  I  trust  that  your  hope  in 
me  will  be  realized,  and  that  I  shall  become  a  zealous, 
priest,  and  one  eminently  useful  to  the  church.  Do  you, 
dear  father,  continue  to  comply  with  all  your  religious, 
duties,  especially  that  of  bringing  up  your  family  in  the 
love  and  fear  of  God." 

On  the  following  day,  the  first  of  May,  he  wrote  to  his- 
old  professor,  Dr.  Kenrick,  who  had  just  been  appointed  to- 
the  see  of  Philadelphia  : 

•'  Right  Reverend  and  Dear  Friend: 

"  The  style  of  my  address  is  expressive  at  once  of  your  pro^ 


Is  sent  to  Rome.  31 

motion  and  of  my  sincere  affection  for  you.    You  have  doubt- 
less ere  this  heard  of  your  appointment  to  the  Bishopric  of 
Philadelphia,  since  you  have  probably  received  the  bulls  sent 
you  by  the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore.     I  congratulate  the 
church  upon  your  elevation,  and  hope  that  you  will  receive 
the  burden  cheerfully,  though  I  perfectly  understand  how 
ungrateful  to  you  the  intelligence  of  your  promotion  must 
have  proved.     What  a  sacrifice  for  the  good  Bishop  of  Ken- 
tucky !     Your  appointment  has  excited  great  interest  in  Bal- 
timore and  Washington.    All  speak  of  it  as  an  era  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  American  Church.    I  have  had  the  good  fortune  to 
meet  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes.     I  handed  him  your  letter,  tO' 
which  I  am  indebted  for  the  kind  manner  in  which  he  received 
me.     He  is  a  gentleman  of  the  most  polite  and  engaging  man- 
ners, blending  the  amiable  modesty  and  reserve  of  the  priest 
with  the  easy  deportment  of  the  man  of  the  world.     He  has,. 
I  think,  a  brilliant  future  before  him.     He  introduced  us  to 
the  professors  of  the  seminary  and  college  in  Baltimore.     In 
his  company,  I  have  been  very  pleasantly  occupied  in  view- 
ing   the    various    objects    of   interest    here.     We    ascended 
together  the  monument  erected  by  Catholic  Maryland   to 
the  memory  of  Washington,  from  which  we  had  a  fine  view 
of  the  city  and  its  picturesque  surroundings.     I  have  alsO' 
visited  the  charitable  institutions  of  Baltimore,  which  do 
honor  to  the  generosity  and  benevolence  of  the  Catholics  of 
Maryland,  as  also  to  the  devoted   zeal   of  the   Sisters   of 
Charity,  who  are  so  nobly  employed   in  ministering  to  the 
suffering  members   of  Christ.     The    Rev.    Mr.    Elder   has 
introduced  me  to  some  relations  here  whose  acquaintance 
has  given  me  great  pleasure. 

**  All  seem  anxious  to  be  informed  of  every  particular  con- 
cerning the  church  in  Kentucky.  They  wish  especially  to 
hear  how  the  Rev.  Mr.  Abell  stands  as  a  preacher.  Here 
in  Baltimore  he  is  considered  an  orator  not  unworthy  of  his 


32  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

native  backwoods.  I  dined  with  the  Archbishop  at  his 
invitation,  and  was  received  with  great  kindness.  He  has 
some  pamphlets  for  Dr.  Wiseman,  of  the  English  College  in 
Rome,  and  he  promises  to  give  us  letters  of  introduction  to 
him.  The  Archbishop  expects  that  you  will  be  consecrated 
in  Bardstown  by  Bishop  Flaget.  He  asked  me  how  the 
priests  in  Kentucky  wore  their  hair,  intending,  as  I  per- 
ceived, to  give  a  hint  to  the  Rev.  Mr. .     He  also  asked 

me  whether  the  Bishop  of  Bardstown  approved  of  coats  with 
straight  collars  like  ours.  When  I  replied  in  the  affirmative, 
he  informed  me  that  in  Maryland  this  is  the  distinctive  mark 
of  Methodist  preachers.  James  Lancaster  was  actually  mis- 
taken for  one  of  these  gentlemen  on  his  way  from  Wash- 
ington to  Baltimore  ;  whilst  I  was  probably  indebted  to  my 
youthful  appearance  for  my  escape  from  a  like  suspicion. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Pise,  whose  acquaintance  I  have  made,  is  a 
very  active  young  man,  who  is  thought  to  possess  great 
talent.  He  hopes  that  you  will  become  a  regular  contribu- 
tor to  the  Metropolitan,  now  that  you  are  to  be  so  near  the 
Rome  of  America." 

Although  these  letters  of  our  young  Kentuckian,  who  had 
for  the  first  time  left  his  native  woods,  are  not  in  themselves 
remarkable,  they  are  yet  not  without  interest,  since  they 
give  us  an  insight  into  his  character,  and  show  the  bent  of  his 
youthful  thoughts  and  aspirations.  His  mind  is  eager  for 
knowledge,  and  he  has  a  keen  eye  for  whatever  has  a  bear- 
ing upon  the  all-absorbing  object  of  his  devotion — the 
church  of  God,  to  the  service  of  which  he  has  consecrated 
his  life.  The  aspiring  hopes  of  the  young  heart,  untaught 
by  disenchanting  experience,  and  uncurbed  by  adversity, 
belong  to  him,  but  they  all  concentre  in  the  church  ;  and 
when  visions  of  the  future  present  themselves  to  his  mind, 
and   he   beholds  himself  such  as  he  hopes   to   be  in  after- 


Is  se  ^  /.••   tiome.  2>Z 

years,  the  ideal  present  to  his  imagination  is  that  of  the 
"zealous  and  useful  priest."  He  proves  himself  not  a  bad 
judge  of  character  when  he  predicts  a  brilliant  future  for 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes,  who  was  as  yet  unknown  to  fame. 

He  and  his  companion  remained  in  Baltimore  two  weeks, 
anxiously  waiting  for  Commodore  Porter  to  sail,  until  at 
length,  growing  weary  of  delay,  they  determined  to  embark 
in  a  vessel  bound  for  Gibraltar,  which  was  to  sail  from  Bal- 
timore on  the  I2th  of  May. 

On  the  eve  of  his  departure,  Martin  wrote  to  Father 
Byrne,  whom,  of  all  his  teachers  and  early  associates,  he 
most  loved : 

"■  Kind  Guardian  of  my  Youth  : 

"  I  write  to  you  from  the  scene  of  your  former  trials  and 
labors.  To-morrow  we  shall  commit  ourselves  to  the  mercy 
of  the  waves  and  the  protection  of  Heaven,  and,  after  having 
passed  through  the  purgatory  of  sea-sickness,  we  may  get 
our  sea-legs,  and  become,  for  aught  we  know,  trusty  sailors. 
The  captain  of  the  ship  on  which  we  are  to  sail  is  a  Catholic 
and  a  gentleman  of  good  standing  here  in  Baltimore,  of 
which  he  is  a  resident.  We  have  been  very  kindly  treated 
during  our  stay  here.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Elder  has  shown  us 
great  attention.  In  manner  he  reminds  me  of  yourself. 
Among  other  privileges,  we  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
the  venerable  patriot,  Charles  Carroll,  the  last  of  our  Revo- 
lutionary heroes.  Though  ninety-three  years  of  age,  he  is 
quite  vigorous  and  remarkably  cheerful.  He  is  still  able,  he 
says,  to  mount  his  horse  and  ride  six  or  seven  miles  without 
great  fatigue. 

"  It  is  a  source  of  gratification  to  us  to  have  received  the 
good-will  and  benediction  of  the  venerable  patriot  just  on 
the  eve  of  leaving  our  native  land.  I  have  seen  some  of 
your  old  friends  in  Baltimore.     The  Rev.  Mr.  Tessier  is  as 


'»4  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 


0 


mild  and  modest  as  when  you  knew  him.  He  talks  through 
his  nose,  laughs  merrily,  eats  heartily,  and  is  as  innocent 
as  a  child.  I  went  to  confession  to  him,  and  I  am  much 
pleased  with  his  character.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Damphoux  is 
always  the  same  eccentric,  excellent  person. 

"  When  I  view  my  present  situation  and  the  advantages 
which  appear  in  every  way  to  be  offered  to  me  for  the  com- 
pletion of  my  education,  I  naturally  recur  in  thought  to  him 
who,  under  Providence,  has  been  the  cause  of  all  my  suc- 
cess, and  the  first  link  in  the  chain  of  my  improvement. 
Believe  me,  then,  dear  father,  when  I  say  that  I  shall  ever 
remain,  with  sincerest  love,  your  devoted  son." 

Martin  Spalding  had  completed  his  twentieth  year  two 
days  before  he  set  sail  for  Europe.  Nearly  half  of  his  life 
had  been  passed  at  college  or  in  the  seminary,  and  his  great 
application  had  somewhat  weakened  his  naturally  feeble 
constitution.  This,  however,  did  not  at  all  discourage  him  ; 
he  was  still  eager  for  work,  and  seemed  never  to  doubt  that 
God  would  give  him  strength  to  complete  his  education,, 
and  to  become,  as  he  expressed  it,  a  zealous  priest,  and  one 
eminently  useful  to  the  church.  In  person,  he  was  slender, 
something  above  the  average  height,  with  a  countenance 
which,  for  regularity  of  feature,  softness  of  outline,  and 
perfect  purity  of  expression,  might  have  passed  for  that  of 
a  beautiful  girl.  His  character,  too,  was  singularly  affec- 
tionate and  gentle  ;  his  whole  nature  frank  and  confiding^ 
unsuspicious  of  evil,  because  he  himself  was  innocent. 

He  had  never,  I  think,  felt  even  the  shadow  of  a  senti- 
mental attachment,  but  carried  from  the  backwoods  of  the 
far  West  to  the  shrines  of  the  apostles  a  virgin  heart  un- 
tainted by  even  the  breath  of  passion. 

He  had  all  the  enthusiastic  love  of  country  which  be- 
longed to  the  young  Americans  of  that  day,  when  the  purity 


Is  sent  to  Rome.  35 

• 

of  republican  manners  had  not  been  corrupted  by  the  evil 
influences  of  wealth  and  luxury.  To  be  an  American  citizen 
was,  in  his  mind,  the  highest  honor  after  that  of  being  a 
Roman  Catholic.  He  looked  upon  Charles  Carroll,  as  we 
have  seen,  with  a  reverence  akin  to  religion,  because  in  him 
he  beheld  one  of  that  band  of  patriots  who,  as  he  had  been 
taught  to  believe,  had  risked  everything  in  a  cause  only  less 
sacred  than  that  of  Christ.  But  the  dream  of  his  soul  was 
the  church  of  God,  the  spouse  of  Christ,  who  is  all  fair, 
without  spot  or  wrinkle;  who,  though  old,  is  ever  young; 
and  to  this,  his  first  love,  he  never  in  after-life  proved 
untrue. 


CHAPTER    III. 

STUDENT   LIFE   IN   ROME. 

lARTIN  SPALDING  arrived  in  Cadiz  on  the  20th 
of  June,  1830,  after  a  voyage  in  which  the  mono- 
tony of  sea-travel  was  not  broken  by  any  inci- 
dent worth  recording.  After  waiting  two  weeks 
in  Cadiz,  he  found  a  ship  bound  for  Marseilles.  He  took 
passage  on  this  vessel,  which,  he  wrote,  was  laden  with  the 
relics  of  all  the  bull-fights  that  had  taken  place  in  Spain 
within  the  last  ten  years.  Sailing  through  the  Strait  of 
Gibraltar,  he  beheld  the  opposing  coasts  of  Europe  and 
Africa.  The  favoring  breeze  filled  the  canvas,  and  the 
travellers  expected  to  be  in  Marseilles  within  four  or  five 
days.  But  the  winds  fell  asleep,  and  the  ship  was  becalmed 
off  the  coast  of  Spain  for  nearly  a  month. 

When  Martin  and  his  companion  at  length  arrived  in 
Marseilles,  they  embarked  with  as  little  delay  as  possible 
for  Leghorn.  But  fortune  was  again  adverse,  and  they 
were  eight  days  in  crossing  the  Mediterranean.  From  Leg- 
horn they  proceeded  to  Florence,  and,  after  visiting  the 
churches  and  art-galleries  of  the  Tuscan  capital,  continued 
their  journey  through  Sienna,  where  they  stopped  to  ad- 
mire the  cathedral,  and  finally,  in  company  with  a.  Roman 
gentleman  and  his  lady  and  two  ferocious  dogs,  they  arrived 
safely  in  the  Eternal  City  on  the  7th  of  August,  just  four 
months  from  the  time  they  left  home.  We  can  hardly 
realize  that  a  trip  to  Europe  forty  years  ago  could  have 
been  attended  with  so  many  delays  and  difficulties. 

•'  If  travel  have  delights,"  Martin  wrote,  shortly  after  he 


Student  Life  in  Ro?ne.  Z7 

reached  Rome,  "  which  compensate  for  its  many  vexations 
and  disappointments,  I  certainly  have  not  experienced 
them." 

But  steam  has  revolutionized  the  world,  and  brought  us 
eight  times  nearer  the  central  city  of  Catholic  faith  than  our 
fathers  were. 

The  vacations  were  just  beginning  when  Martin  arrived  in 
Rome,  and  he  therefore  went  at  once  to  the  summer-house 
of  the  Propaganda,  near  Tivoli — one  of  the  most  delightful 
and  picturesque  spots  in  Italy.  Here  he  applied  himself  to 
the  study  of  Italian,  and  by  the  end  of  vacation  he  was  able 
to  speak  it  without  much  difficulty. 

In  November,  he  returned  to  Rome,  and  entered  upon 
the  routine  of  Propaganda  life.  The  students  of  this  insti- 
tution are  divided  into  companies  or  camerate,  the  members 
of  one  camerata  being  allowed  no  communication  with  those 
of  another. 

In  the  camerata  in  which  the  young  Kentuckian  was 
placed,  there  were  two  Irishmen,  two  Germans,  two  Dutch- 
men, two  Constantinopolitans,  a  Scotchman,  a  Dalmatian, 
an  Albanian,  and  a  Bulgarian. 

His  studies  were  divided  into  four  classes.  In  the  morn- 
ing, he  had  church  history  and  moral  theology ;  in  the  after- 
noon, Hebrew  and  dogma. 

"  How  full  are  my  days,"  he  wrote,  when  he  had  got 
thoroughly  to  work,  "  and  how  rapidly  they  pass!  It  is 
impossible  to  describe  my  happiness  here  in  the  Propaganda, 
The  kind  indulgence  of  my  superiors,  the  cheerfulness  and 
freedom  encouraged  in  the  students,  the  brilliant  examples 
of  piety  and  learning  which  I  behold  around  me,  the  almost 
maternal  care  with  which  I  am  provided  with  whatever  my 
health  may  require,  the  admirable  facilities  offered  for  the 
cultivation  of  heart  and  mind,  all  conduce  to  render  me  per- 
fectly happy,  and  to  make  me  for  ever  grateful  to  those  who 


;^S  Life  of  ArckbishOj^  Spalding. 

have  helped  to  procure  me  such  blessings.  My  heahi. .  tiv- 
deed,  was  not  good  for  a  while,  the  fatigue  of  travel  having" 
proved  injurious  to  me  ;  but  God  permitted  me  to  be  thus 
tried  only  to  purify  my  intention,  and  tv'^  cause  me  to  give 
myself  wholly  into  his  sacred  keeping,  I  have  made  the  act 
of  entire  self-abandonment,  and  my  health  is  rapidly  im- 
proving. I  have  every  confidence  that  I  shall  be  able  to 
complete  my  studies,  and  to  prepare  myself  to  be  of  use  to 
the  church,  to  the  service  of  whose  altar  I  have  been  called, 
and  to  promote  whose  interests  is  the  chief  desire  of  my 
heart.  Dear  brother,  let  us  unite  in  this  glorious  work. 
The  vineyard  is  large,  and  the  laborers  are  few." 

A  few  months  after  his  arrival  in  Rome,  he  received  the 
following  letter  from  Bishop  Flaget,  in  which  we  perceive 
both  the  great  piety  and  the  affectionate  character  of  that 
'.venerable  man  : 

•"  My  Dear  Son  : 

"  How  I  envy  the  happiness  which  you  enjoyed  when  you 
entered  into  the  Holy  City  ! 

"  Oh  !  what  delight  for  me  had  I  been  in  your  company 
when  you  were  presented  to  the  Cardinal- Prefect,  to  the 
Rector  and  Professors  of  the  college,  and  were  received  with 
such  kindness !  Many  a  time  have  I  expressed  my  wish 
to  visit  the  Limina  Apostolorum,  but  my  entreaties  have 
proved  vain.  My  lot  is  cast ;  Europe  is  not  to  be  seen  by  me 
again ;  I  am  wedded  to  Kentucky.  Here  I  must  live ;  here 
I  must  die.  The  holy  will  of  God  be  done.  I  submit  to  it 
with  joy,  since,  by  coming  to  Kentucky,  I  have  been  the 
occasion  of  your  visiting  the  Holy  City,  where  I  hope  you 
will  drink  in  greater  learning  and  piety  than  I  could  have 
ever  acquired.  The  details  you  gave  us  in  your  letter  of 
your  fellow-students,  of  their  different  nationalities,  manners, 
and  colors,  and  yet  all  united  in  the  same  faith  and  in  the 


Student  Life  iii  Rome.  39 

reception  of  the  same  sacraments,  were  both  entertaining 
and  edifying.  Yet  we  would  have  been  glad  to  see  what 
manner  of  countenance  you  put  on  when  you  sat  by  those 
black  brothel s  of  yours.  My  dear  Martin  was  truly  witty 
when  he  related  how  they  administered  a  second  baptism 
to  him  in  the  gardens  of  the  Holy  Father.  His  Eminence 
Cardinal  Cappellari  has  written  most  favorably  of  you.  For 
God's  sake,  my  dear  son,  do  not  frustrate  the  high  expecta- 
tions of  this  venerable  man  and  of  your  old  Bishop,  who  has 
always  loved  you  like  an  affectionate  father.  No  doubt,  in 
sending  you  to  Rome,  I  had  your  own  good  in  view ;  but  I 
must  confess,  as  I  said  to  you  before  your  departure,  that 
the  honor  of  our  holy  religion  in  Kentucky  was  the  first 
object  I  had  in  contemplation  in  procuring  for  you  the 
extraordinary  advantages  which  you  now  enjoy.  Study, 
then,  my  dearly  beloved  child,  but  study  at  the  foot  of  the 
crucifix,  having  nothing  in  view  but  the  glory  of  God,  the 
sanctification  and  instruction  of  those  who  will  one  day  be 
committed  to  your  care,  and  your  own  perfection.  Be 
punctual  in  the  observance  of  your  rules  ;  obey  your  supe- 
riors as  you  would  obey  Jesus  Christ;  be  obliging  and  con- 
descending in  your  intercourse  with  your  fellow-students  ; 
suffer  not  the  mean  vice  of  jealousy  to  enter  your  heart ; 
bear  with  the  failings  of  others  as  they  have  to  bear  with 
yours;  respect  national  prejudices,  customs,  and  usages, 
and  do  not  quarrel  with  any  one  who  does  not  entertain  for 
your  native  land  the  high  ideas  which  have  been  instilled 
into  your  heart  from  infancy ;  be  more  ready  to  praise  than 
to  blame  ;  bear  with  jokes,  and  take  up  daily  your  cross,  and 
follow  in  the  company  of  our  blessed  Saviour." 

In  a  letter  to  his  sister,  who  was  a  Lorettine  nun,  and 
who  had  made  enquiry  concerning  the  religious  orders  in 
Rome,  he  says:    "  Nearly  all  the  orders  of  the  church  are 


40  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding, 

represented  in  Rome.  The  convents  of  women  are  very 
numerous.  The  Rector,  however,  tells  me  that  there  is  no 
order  of  Lorettine  nuns  either  in  Rome  or  in  Italy.  We 
never  see  the  nuns,  as  they  are  all  cloistered  ;  but  we  see 
the  friars  every  day,  who  are  also  quite  numerous,  and,  in 
general,  very  exemplary.  There  are  gray  friars,  and  white 
friars,  and  black  friars  :  bearded  friars,  and  shaven  friars,  and 
hooded  friars ;  lean  friars  and  fat  friars ;  barefoot  friars,  and' 
shod  friars,  and  slippered  friars  ;  clean  friars,  and  dirty  friars, 
and  begging  friars — but  you  must  really  excuse  me  ;  I  can- 
not tell  you  of  them  all."  And  then,  with  that  naivete 
which  always  characterized  him,  he  adds :  "  Understand 
me,  my  dear  sister,  I  do  not  make  this  short  litany  to  ridi- 
cule the  monks,  but  to  make  you  laugh.  I  esteem  and 
venerate  the  friars.  They  are  very  exemplary,  give  the 
perfect  example  of  the  contempt  of  worldly  goods,  "  having 
their  conversation  in  heaven,"  and  they  form,  at  the  same 
time,  a  most  useful  body  of  reserve,  which  the  church  calls 
to  her  aid  in  case  of  need,  as  there  are  among  them  not  only 
most  pious  but  also  most  learned  men." 

The  brief  term  of  twenty  months,  during  which  Pius 
VIII.  sat  in  the  chair  of  Peter,  was  drawing  to  its  close 
when  Martin  Spalding  arrived  in  Rome.  He  refers  to  the 
death  of  this  Pope  in  one  of  his  letters  : 

"  The  death  of  our  Sovereign  Pontiff,  Pius  VIII. ,  has 
awakened  universal  sorrow  in  the  Catholic  world.  This  ami- 
able guardian  of  the  church  expired  on  the  30th  of  Novem- 
ber, after  an  illness  of  nearly  two  weeks.  He  was  greatly 
esteemed  for  the  gentle  qualities  which,  together  with  his 
name,  he  seems  to  have  inherited  from  his  illustrious  pre- 
decessor, Pius  VII.,  whom  he  sought  to  imitate.  Among 
other  incidents  illustrative  of  his  kindness  of  heart,  the  con- 
version of  an  English  officer  is  spoken  of,  who  had  solicited 
an  audience,  expecting  to  verify  in  the  person  of  the  Pope  alt 


Siude?it  Life  in  Rome.  41 

that  he  had  heard  of  the  man  of  sin.  But  he  was  received 
with  such  gentleness  and  cordiality  that  his  mind  and  heart 
were  completely  changed,  and,  prostrating  himself  at  the 
feet  of  his  Holiness,  he  declared  his  intention  to  embrace 
the  Catholic  faith.  The  body  was  embalmed,  and  then,, 
clothed  in  pontifical  robes,  with  mozetta  and  stole,  cap  of 
red  and  white  soutane,  it  was  exposed  for  two  days  in  the 
chapel  of  the  Quirinal,  where  it  was  visited  by  immense 
crowds  of  people.  I  also  had  the  sad  privilege  of  behold- 
ing the  mortal  remains  of  the  Father  of  the  faithful. 

"  In  the  interval  between  his  death  and  burial,  the  car- 
dinals, bishops,  and  prelates  of  Rome  wore  mourning,  and 
the  soldiers  carried  their  arms  reversed.  On  the  2d  of 
December,  the  body  was  borne  to  St.  Peter's  with  military 
pomp  and  full  attendance  of  the  cardinals  and  princes  of 
Rome  in  carriages.  Here  it  was  again  exposed  for  two 
days  in  the  Sixtine  Chapel,  and  again  visited  by  vast 
crowds.  Finally,  on  the  6th  of  December,  after  all  the 
ceremonies  had  been  performed,  the  body  was  placed  in  a 
wooden-  case,  enclosed  in  one  of  iron,  which  was  surrounded 
by  a  third  of  lead,  and  was  then  deposited  in  the  place 
destined  for  the  temporary  reception  of  the  mortal  remains 
of  the  Pontiff  till  the  death  of  his  successor." 

The  confident  hopes  with  which  Martin  had  entered  upon 
his  studies  in  Rome  soon  proved  delusive.  His  health, 
instead  of  improving,  continued  to  decline,  and  in  a  short 
time  he  was  brought  to  the  very  brink  of  the  grave.  In 
this  condition,  he  dictated  a  letter  to  his  faithful  companion, 
James  Lancaster,  in  which  he  informed  his  relations  and 
friends  of  his  death,  told  them  that  he  had  died  happy,  and 
that  they  should  rejoice  rather  than  grieve  that  he  had  gone 
to  a  better  world.  This  letter  was  sent  to  Kentucky,  and 
for  more  than  a  week  it  was  supposed  that  Martin  was 
dead.     When  the  report  arrived.  Bishop  Flaget  was  sick  at 


42  Life  of  Ai'chbisJiop  Spalding. 

Loretto.  He  immediately  grew  worse,  and  gave  way  to 
uncontrollable  grief.  He  kept  in  his  hands  a  rosary  which 
Martin  had  chained  for  him,  and  repeatedly  kissed  it  and 
bedewed  it  with  his  tears.  He,  however,  consoled  himself 
with  the  thought  that  Martin  had  served  God  from  the 
days  of  his  youth,  and  was  now  certainly  in  heaven.  But 
God,  whose  minister  he  was  to  be,  brought  him  back  from 
the  jaws  of  death.  As  soon  as  he  had  partially  recovered, 
he  wrote  the  following  letter  to  his  father : 

"  Beloved  Father  : 

"  You  had,  I  suppose,  given  up  all  hope  of  ever  hearing 
again  from  your  son.  Having  been  unwell  the  greater  part 
of  the  time  since  my  arrival  in  Rome,  as  you  already  know, 
I  was  taken  ill  with  cholera-morbus  on  the  5th  of  Jan- 
uary. The  disease  continued  without  abatement  for  fifteen 
days,  bringing  me  to  the  point  of  death,  and  causing  all  to 
despair  of  my  life.  In  the  letter  which  I  then  wrote  to  the 
Bishop  by  the  hands  of  my  good  companion,  I  exhorted 
you  to  lay  aside  all  solicitude  for  me,  told  you  that  I  had 
died  happy,  and  desired  you  to  wipe  away  the  tears  which 
the  news  of  my  death  might  occasion.  Yes,  dear  father, 
thanks  to  God  and  to  the  principles  of  his  holy  religion 
which  your  parental  love  had  taken  care  to  have  instilled 
into  my  mind  from  my  earliest  infancy,  I  was  happy  and 
filled  even  with  the  sweetest  joy  when  told  that  my  hour 
had  come,  that  the  prison  of  my  wretched  body  was  to  be 
broken,  and  that  my  soul  was  destined  soon  to  be  with  her 
Heavenly  Father  for  all  eternity.  No  language  can  paint 
the  peace  and  happiness  of  mind  which  I  enjoyed  during 
the  month  in  which  I  was  confined  to  my  bed.  I  suffered, 
it  is  true,  but  religion  rendered  my  sufferings  SM^eet,  and  the 
more  I  was  weakened  by  disease,  the  more,  thanks  be  to 
God  !  to  whom  alone  all  the  glory  must  be  given,  was  I 


Studejii  Life  in  Rome.  43 

filled  with  joy  at  the  appearance  of  the  near  approach  of 
death.  Dear  father,  fear  not  for  me  ;  I  shall  be  happy,  for 
I  have  given  myself  without  reserve  to  God  and  his  holy 
■church.  I  may  again  see  you  if  it  be  the  holy  will  of  God, 
and,  if  it  be  not  his  will,  I  gladly  make  the  sacrifice  of  that 
which  would  be  most  agreeable  to  my  heart,  trusting  to 
see  in  heaven  for  all  eternity  him  whom  I  was  not  allowed 
to  behold  asain  on  earth.  Let  us  endeavor  to  meet  in  that 
blessed  abode,  where  nothing  can  separate  us.  Even  should 
I  not  be  permitted  to  finish  my  studies  here,  you  will  have 
no  reason  to  regret  having  sent  me,  as  I  shall  have  seen 
■enough  of  the  religion  and  glory  of  this  holy  city  amply  to 
compensate  for  the  expenses  you  have  incurred  in  sending 
me  to  Rome.  The  Holy  Father,  Gregory  XVI.,  recently 
visited  our  college,  and,  when  I  was  presented  to  him,  he 
enquired  particularly  concerning  my  health  ;  and,  when  I 
answered  that  I  was  fast  recovering,  he  expressed  the  wish 
that  I  might  soon  be  restored  to  perfect  health." 

There  is  something  singularly  touching  in  this  gentle 
thoushtfulness  of  the  visible  head  of  a  church  whose 
children  number  two  hundred  million  souls,  with  regard  to 
a  simple  young  man,  a  stranger  from  the  wild  woods  of 
America,  whose  only  merit  was  that  he  was  a  Catholic,  and 
had  devoted  his  life  to  the  service  of  God  in  the  church. 

"  I  know  not,"  says  Cardinal  Wiseman,  "  how  a  dignitary 
of  any  other  religion,  though  holding  no  royal  power  and 
majesty,  would  receive  a  body  of  youths  about  to  devote 
themselves  to  the  service  of  his  creed,  or  whether  he  would 
think  it  worth  while  to  admit  them  at  all  to  an  interview. 
But  to  Rome  there  flock  from  every  region  of  earth 
aspirants  to  the  ecclesiastical  state,  in  boyhood  and  well- 
nigh  in  childhood,  speaking  as  many  languages  as  are  attri- 
buted to  the  apostles  on  the  day  of   Pentecost ;  and  yet, 


44  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

perhaps,  hardly  one  fails  to  come  into  personal  contact  with 
him  towards  whom  from  infancy  he  has  looked  up  as  the 
most  exalted  person  in  the  world.  Soon  after  his  arrival,  he 
receives  an  early  blessing  on  his  future  career,  accompanied 
often  with  a  few  kind  words,  unfailingly  with  a  benign  look. 
That  brief  moment  is  an  epoch  in  life,  perhaps  a  starting- 
point  for  success.  For  the  general  attachment  that  united 
him  with  millions  to  the  head  of  his  church,  there  is  estab- 
lished a  personal  bond,  an  individual  connection.  It  is  no- 
longer  awe  and  distant  reverence,  but  an  affection  as  distinct 
in  character  as  that  to  one  intimately  related.  And  this 
relation  is  strengthened  in  the  youthful  mind  at  every  suc- 
ceeding year  of  his  course.  He  knows  that  every  professor 
Avhose  lectures  he  hears  has  been  directly  and  immediately 
appointed,  after  careful  selection,  by  the  Pope  himself;  that 
every  class-book  which  he  reads  has  received  the  same 
supreme  sanction  ;  he  feels  himself  almost  under  the  direct 
tuition  of  the  Holy  See;  however  pure  and  sparkling  the 
rills  at  which  others  may  drink,  he  puts  his  lips  to  the  very 
rock  which  a  divine  wand  has  struck,  and  he  sucks  in  its 
waters  as  they  gush  forth  living."  * 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  in  Rome,  Martin  Spalding  ob- 
tained from  the  Cardinal-Prefect,  through  the  mediation 
of  the  Rector,  a  place  in  the  Propaganda  for  his  brother 
Benedict,  who  was  still  studying  and  teaching  in  the  semi- 
nary at  Bardstown.  He  at  once  wrote  to  Bishop  Flaget, 
and  begged  him  to  allow  his  brother  to  come  and  join  him 
in  Rome.  To  this  the  Bishop  himself  did  not  object,  but 
some  of  his  advisers  hesitated  to  give  their  consent.  They 
seemed  to  think  that  theology  could  be  learned  as  well  in 
Bardstown  as  in  Rome,  and  that  they  understood  better 
than  their  Italian  brothers  what  practical  training  was 
necessary   to    form    successful    missionaries   for    Kentucky.. 

•  Recollections  of  the  Four  Last  Popes,  p.  29. 


Student  Life  in  Rome.  45 

These  objections  were  communicated  to  Martin,  who,  in 
reply,  wrote  a  long  letter,  in  which  he  set  forth  the  special 
advantages  of  a  Roman  education. 

"  In  the  past,"  he  asks,  "  what  nation  has  not  felt  the 
influence  of  religion  issuing  from  the  centre  of  Christian 
unity,  and  guided  by  the  august  head  of  the  Christian 
hierarchy  ?  And  in  her  train  have  followed  science  and 
the  arts  of  civilization.  The  Eternal  City  still  wields  an 
influence  in  the  world  not  less  powerful,  certainly  more 
glorious,  than  that  which  once  belonged  to  the  iron  sceptre 
of  her  imperial  rulers.  The  Pope  is  the  immediate  supe- 
rior of  the  Propaganda,  which,  according  to  the  expression 
of  a  cardinal  who  frequently  honors  us  with  his  presence, 
may  be  rightly  called  the  seminary  of  Christendom.  Here, 
under  the  same  roof,  are  assembled  young  men  from  all 
parts  of  the  world.  Here  we  behold  the  rare  spectacle  of 
thirteen  distinct  nationalities  united  in  the  bonds  of  charity. 
How  advantageous  must  not  such  an  assemblage  prove  to 
the  ecclesiastical  student  who,  whilst  having  before  his  eyes 
a  striking  proof  of  the  catholicity  of  his  faith,  is  at  the 
same  time  thereby  enabled  to  gain  an  accurate  knowledge 
of  the  state  of  the  church  in  the  various  parts  of  the  world? 
The  young  men  who  come  here  usually  possess  more  than 
ordinary  talent,  and,  in  the  collision  of  opinion  or  in  the 
ardor  of  dispute,  genius  is  awakened.  A  laudable  freedom 
in  proposing  difficulties  is  encouraged  in  the  classes,  in 
which  the  language  adopted  by  the  church  in  her  ritual 
is  in  constant  use.  Premiums  are  annually  distributed  to 
those  who  have  signalized  themselves,  and  this  year  the 
Holy  Father  himself  presided  over  these  exercises.  If  we 
consider  our  spiritual  advantages,  they  are  not  less  evident. 
All  our  superiors  are  most  exemplary.  No  one  more 
amiable  than  our  Rector  ;  no  one  more  fatherly  than  our 
Confessor ;    no  more  perfect  models  of  virtue  than  all  our 


46  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

professors.  In  fact,  the  Roman  clergy  in  general  are  a  most 
learned  and  religious  body  of  men.  How  can  we  visit  the 
shrines  of  the  martyrs  or  the  Limina  Apostolorum  without 
feeling  a  glow  of  the  sacred  flame  which  burned  in  their 
bosoms — without  resolving  to  imitate  their  virtues  in  order 
to  be  able  to  emulate  their  usefulness? 

"  As  for  the  difference  of  the  two  countries  in  manners 
and   customs,  I,  for  my  part,  can   see  no   good  reason  why 
the  roughness   of  a   Kentucky  backwoodsman    should   not 
receive  a  touch  of  European  polish  ;  or  how,  if  he  should 
acquire  something  of  the  piety,  politeness,  and  the  gravitas 
condita    comitate   which    are    characteristic    of    the    Roman 
clergy,  he  should  thereby  be  rendered  less  apt  to  become  a 
useful   missionary.     In   my  own   case,   I   am   sure  that   my 
attachment    to    the    institutions   of   m.y    own    country    has 
been  increased  by  my  absence  from  it,  and  I  feel  confident 
that  no  American  can  travel  in  Europe  without  being  more 
thoroughly  convinced  that  the  United  States,  in  natural  and 
civil  advantages,  is  inferior  to  no  country  in  the  world.     Is 
there  not  something  in  the  constant  conversation  of  persons  ' 
of  so  many  different  nations  and  dispositions  which  tends  to 
give  an  acquaintance  with  human  nature,  and  to  impart  that 
spirit  of  accommodation  and  conciliation  which  may  dispose 
us  to  become  all  things  to  all  men,  after  the  example  of  the 
model  of  missionaries?     Is  there  not  also  something  in  the 
absence  from  parents  and  friends  which  tends  to  purif}^  the 
affections  and  to  ennoble  the  motives  of  action?     What  I 
have  written,  my  dear  brother,  has   been  prompted   by  the 
purest  love  of  religion,  and  I  am  sure  that  the  gentlemen  of 
Bardstown  are  not   more  ardent  in  the  sacred  cause  than 
myself.     If  they  wish  to  send  you   to   Rome,  come  cheer- 
fully,   persuaded   that   it   is   the   will  of  God  ;  if   not,  it   is 
better  for  you   to   remain    in    Bardstown.     God    speaks  by 
the  mouth  of  those  whom  he  has  placed  over  us.     If  you 


Student  Life  in  Rome.  47 

come,  make  an  entire  sacrifice  of  yourself  to  God  previous 
to  your  departure.  Bring  nothing  with  you  but  good 
health,  a  cheerful  and  brave  heart,  and  a  will  prepared  to 
yield  obedience  to  whatever  may  be  enjoined." 

This  letter  seems  to  have  produced  the  intended  effect, 
since,  shortly  after  its  reception,  Benedict  Spalding  set  oat 
to  join  his  brother  in  the  Eternal  City. 

By  the  beginning  of  his  second  year  in  the  Propaganda, 
Martin  had  entirely  regained  his  health.  He  again  took  up 
his  studies  with  renewed  earnestness,  and  at  the  close  of 
the  year  received  the  first  premiums  in  all  his  classes,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  was  decorated  with  the  gold 
medal.  He  even  began  to  grow  stout  about  this  time, 
which  caused  Bishop  David  to  give  him  certain  hygienic 
admonitions.  "  I  must  tell  you,"  he  writes,  "  that  I  am  not 
pleased  to  hear  that  you  are  growing  fleshy.  This  corpu- 
lence alarms  me,  and  causes  me  to  fear  that  you  do  not 
conform  to  my  prescription,  which  you  praise  greatly  in  one 
of  your  letters.  I  have  sometimes  told  those  who  enquire 
after  my  health  that  I  can  not  but  be  well,  since  I  always 
carry  my  physician  with  me  ;  and,  upon  their  asking  who 
that  physician  is,  I  answer  that  it  is  hunger.  The  vene'rable 
Charles  Carroll,  when  asked  what  means  he  employed  to 
preserve  his  health  in  such  perfect  condition,  replied  that 
he  always  left  the  table  hungry." 


CHAPTER     IV. 

:  AST   YEAR   IN   ROME — PUBLIC    DEFENCE    OF    THESES   FOR 

THE   doctor's   cap. 

HE  Rector  of  the  Propaganda  during  the  four 
years  which  Martin  Spalding  passed  there  was 
Count  Reisach,  who  was  afterwards  made  Arch- 
bishop of  Munich,  and  who  died  a  cardinal  of 
the  Roman  Church  just  before  the  assembling  of  the  Vatican 
Council.  He  was  one  of  the  gentlest  of  men,  and  his  warm- 
hearted frankness  of  manner  soon  won  the  confidence  and 
affection  of  his  young  American  pupil.  Dr.  CuUen,  the 
present  Cardinal-Archbishop  of  Dublin,  taught  him  Scrip- 
ture. His  spiritual  director  and  confessor  was  Father 
Vincent  Pallotti,  one  of  the  most  saintly  men  of  his  age. 
"  The  good  odor  of  his  virtues,"  wrote  Archbishop  Spalding 
of  Father  Pallotti  nearly  forty  years  after  he  had  left  the 
Propaganda,  "  still  sweetens  my  memory,  and  clusters  like 
a  halo  around  my  heart." 

Mezzofanti  was  also  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  Propaganda 
at  this  time.  "  In  appearance,"  Martin  says  in  one  of  his 
letters,  "  he  is  not  remarkable,  but,  as  a  linguist,  he  is  the 
prodigy  of  the  age.  He  speaks  thirty  languages  with  ease 
and  fluency,  understands  forty,  and  can  learn  a  new  one  in 
a  few  days.  It  is  quite  an  ordinary  occurrence,  when  he  is 
here  in  the  Propaganda,  to  hear  him  speak  in  seven  or  eight 
different  tongues  almost  in  the  same  breath.  He  has  read 
all  our  best  English  authors,  and  frequently  recites  long  pas- 
sages from  our  poets.  Within  the  last  few  weeks,  he  has 
learned  the  Congo  language,  which  he  is  now  engaged  in 


Last   Year  in  Rojue.  49 

teaching  to  some  missionaries  who  are  to  be  sent  to  evan- 
gelize the  savages  of  that  country."  He  was,  here  in  the 
Propaganda,  for  the  first  time  thrown  into  contact  with  the 
fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  ;  and  the  evidences  which 
he  beheld  of  their  great  learning  and  virtue  soon  won  his 
enthusiastic  admiration.  "  They  are,"  he  writes,  "  the 
brightest  ornaments  of  the  clergy,  as  they  are,  in  my 
opinion,  the  most  noble,  the  most  learned,  and  the  most 
useful  auxiliary  corps  which  the  church  has  ever  been  able 
to  summon  to  her  assistance." 

From  his  correspondence,  we  perceive  that  his  mind  was 
dwelUng  with  unusual  interest  already  then  upon  the  rela- 
tion of  the  church  to  European  civilization — a  subject  which 
he  afterwards  labored  with  such  earnestness  to  develop  and 
elucidate.     In  one  of  his  letters,   he  sketches  a  plan  for  a 
history  of  Italian  literature,  which,  starting  from  the  causes 
that  led  to  the  neglect  of  letters  after  the  fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  should  describe- the  religious,  social,  and  political 
conditions  which  brought  about  their  partial  revival  in  the 
twelfth    and   thirteenth  centuries.        He  would   then    show 
how,  in   tlie  fifteenth   century,  Italy  became  the  centre  of 
intellectual  activity — the  focus  whence  the  rest  of  Europe 
received   its  light.     The  whole   investigation   should  prove 
that  Europe  owes  its  religion,  its  laws,  its  arts  and  sciences, 
to  Italy,  who  is  indebted  for  this  pre-eminence  to  the  bene- 
ficent  influence  of  the  church,  and,  above  all,  to  the  fact 
that    Rome   had   been   the  home    of    the   Vicar  of    Christ. 
Although  this  plan  is  imperfect,  it  nevertheless  shows  a  pre- 
dilection for  those  studies  which  regard  the  historical  and 
practical  side  of  the  church's  action  upon  society,  which  to 
the  end  of  his  life  continued  to  have  a  special  charm  for  him. 
In  the   spring  of  1834.  while  Martin  Spalding  was  still  a 
student    in    the    Propaganda,    Bishop    England    arrived    in 
Rome  to  give   an   account  of  his  mission    to    the    republic 


50  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

of  Hayti.  He  had  left  the  Eternal  City  about  a  year  be- 
fore, with  power  of  apostolic  legate  to  settle  the  affairs  of 
the  church  in  that  island,  and  he  now  returned  to  make 
a  report  of  what  he  had  seen  and  done. 

Although  his  efforts  had  been  but  partially  successful,  still 
he  had  attended  to  the  business  upon  which  he  had  been 
sent  with  a  despatch  and  energy  that  excited  the  admiration 
of  the  officials  of  the  Roman  Court,  who  are  proverbially 
slow  and  deliberate  in  all  affairs  of  importance.  His  arrival 
in  Rome  was  preceded  by  the  rumor  that,  as  a  reward  for 
his  many  and  signal  services  to  the  cause  of  religion,  he  was 
to  receive  the  cardinal's  hat.  The  Dublin  Evening  Post  had 
first  given  currency  to  this  report,  which  was  copied  by  the 
journals  of  Paris  ;  and  when  Bishop  England  passed  through 
France  on  his  way  to  Rome,  he  was  everywhere  congratu- 
lated by  the  French  bishops  upon  his  elevation  to  the  Ro- 
man purple.  The  rumor,  like  others  of  more  recent  date 
concerning  the  appointment  of  an  American  cardinal,  proved 
to  be  without  foundation  ;  but  the  fact  that  it  was  so  gene- 
rally" believed  to  be  true  shows  the  high  opinion  which  the 
Catholics  of  Europe  had  formed  of  Bishop  England's  talents- 
and  labors  in  the  cause  of  the  church.  The  American  stu- 
dents in  the  Propaganda  were,  of  course,  proud  of  Dr.  Eng- 
land, and  enthusiastic  admirers  of  his  genius  as  a  v/riter  and 
speaker.  Their  letters  of  this  date  are  filled  with  the  praises 
of  this  wonderful  man,  whom  the  Italian  cardinals  called  it 
vescovo  a  vapore — the  steam-bishop  ;  meaning  probably  some- 
thing similar  to  what  Sydney  Smith  sought  to  express  whea 
he  called  Webster  a  steam-engine  in  breeches. 

It  was  during  this  visit  of  Bishop  England  to  Rome  that 
Martin  Spalding,  having  completed  the  full  course  of  stu- 
dies as  prescribed  in  the  Propaganda,  made  a  public  defence 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  propositions,  chosen  from  uni- 
versal theology,  church  history,  and  canon  law. 


Defence  of  Theses  for  the  Doctors  Cap.        5  r 

It  is  seldom  that  a  candidate  for  the  doctorate  defends 
so  large  a  number  of  theses  embracing  so  wide  a  range 
of  subjects. 

Martin  Spalding  was  the  first  American  student  in  Rome 
to  whom  this  honor  was  granted,  and  since  his  time  but  one 
or  two  Americans  have  received  the  doctor's  cap  after  a 
defence  of  propositions  chosen  from  universal  theology, 
Scripture,  and  canon  law.  Bishop  England  was  present 
when  the  young  Kentuckian  stood  up  to  make  good  his 
two  hundred  and  fifty-six  propositions  against  any  and 
every  foe  who  might  see  fit  to  enter  the  lists  against  him  ; 
and 'from  his  graphic  pen  we  have  an  interesting  account 
of  the  closing  scenes  in  Martin  Spalding's  student  life. 

The  defence  of  the  grand  thesis  is  by  no  means  a  mere 
ceremony  of  formality  and  display.  Only  the  best  students 
are  selected,  and  they  enter  the  field  in  fear,  not  knowing 
whether  victory  or  defeat  awaits  them. 

"  There  is  a  formidable  Jesuit  here,"  wrote  Bishop  Eng- 
land, "  who  is  a  professor  of  dogmatic  theology  at  the  Ro- 
man College,  who  has  lately  swept,  in  a  comparatively  short 
encounter,  half  a  dozen   of  these   youthful  aspirants   from 
the   field  of  fame  ;  and  their  teachers  were  neither  insen- 
sible nor  inactive  on  and  after  the  encounter.     The  effects 
of  this  carnage  are  not  yet  at  an  end  ;  gauntlet  after  gaunt- 
let is  flung  down,  and  the  judges  of  such  feats  are  in  con- 
tinual requisition.     On  the  present  occasion,  John  Martin- 
Spalding,  a    Kentuckian,   and    the    senior    student    of   the 
United    States  of   North  America,  a  pupil  of   the    Urban 
College,  published  a  respectful  and  manly  Latin  address  to 
the  Congregation  of  Cardinals  presiding  over  the  affairs  of 
the    Propaganda,  in  which,  after  wishing    their    eminences 
happiness  and  health,  he  informs  them  of  what  he  considers 
the  blessings  diffused   by  their  institution,  for  which  they 
deserve  thanks  •  and.  as  he  has  finished  the  usual  course  of 


52  Life  of  Archbishop   Spalding. 

:Studies,  he  has  determined  to  express  pubHcly  his  gratitude 
by  sustaining  his  theses,  expressing  the  doctrines  which  he 
■shall  endeavor  to  teach  in  those  distant  regions  to  which  he 
is  about  to  return.     For  this  purpose,  he  will  appear,  God 
willing,  in  the  morning,  in  the  great  hall  of  the  college,  when 
and  where  it  shall  be  lawful  for  any  one  who  thinks  proper 
to    controvert  what  he  undertakes   to  defend  ;  and,  in   the 
afternoon,  he  will  appear  in  the  college  chapel,  where  three 
select  champions  will  successively  make  their  assaults,  after 
which  he  will  be  ready  to  meet  any  other  that  may  be  dis- 
posed to  try  his  strength.     Then  follows  a  list  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty-six  propositions  which  he  undertakes  to  de- 
fend.   They  are  taken  from  the  several  treatises  of  theology 
and  canon  law.     Copies  were  sent  to  the  other  colleges,  and 
special  invitations  were  given  to  several  individuals  whose 
attendance  was  particularly  desirable.    About  half-past  eight 
o'clock  on  Thursday  morning  (July  17,   1834),  I  arrived  at 
the  gate  of  the  college,  on  the  pavement  in  front  of  which 
was  a  profuse  scattering  of  sweet-smelling  green  leaves  ;  the 
bay  and  myrtle  predominated  ;  the  gate  itself  was  open,  and 
this  fragrant  path  marked  the  way  to  the  interior. 

"  The  strewing  continued  up  the  great  staircase,  along  the 
open  gallery  of  the  first  floor,  to  the  great  door  leading  to 
the  principal  corridor,  along  this  passage  to  the  gate  of  the 
principal  hall.  This  room,  about  eighty  feet  in  length,  by 
perhaps  forty  wide  and  twenty  in  height,  has  its  walls  deco- 
rated with  paintings  of  students  of  this  college  who  had 
borne  testimony  to  the  faith  under  the  inflictions  of  the 
deadly  pain  by  which  they  were  in  remote  regions  mart}'red 
for  their  discharge  of  duty;  thus  exhibiting  to  the  }-outh 
who  are  therein  educated  the  constancy  which  the  church 
expects  from  them  under  similar  circumstances.  At  the 
further  extremity,  opposite  the  door,  was  a  carpeted  plat- 
form, elevated  two  steps;   upon  this  the  young  Kentncki.m 


Defence  of  Theses  for  tJie  Doctors  Cap.         53 

was  seated,  with  a  small  table  before  him,  having  also  seated 
b\-  him  on  one  side  his  professor  of  theology,  a  Roman,  and 
on  tlio  other  his  professor  of  law,  a  Bavarian  count,  who  i.s 
a  priest  and  rector  of  the  college.  The  renowned  scholar,. 
Angelo  Mai,  presided,  being  seated  on  )'our  right  as  you; 
entered  the  hall,  near  this  platform.  A  range  of  chairs- 
extended  on  either  side,  leaving  a  passage  of  about  ten  feet 
wide  in  the  centre.  These  chairs  were  intended  for  cardinals, 
bishops,  or  other  prelates  and  professors  who  might  arrive  ; 
ranges  of  benches  parallel  to  these  on  each  side,  behind,  were 
pretty  generally  thronged  by  students  of  that  or  other  col- 
leges, and  by  strangers.  No  cardinal  was  present  in  the 
forenoon  ;  the  Bishop  of  Charleston  was  the  only  prelate  of 
the  episcopal  order ;  but  several  others  of  various  grades, 
secular  and  regular,  amongst  whom  were  the  rectors  and 
professors  of  several  colleges,  occupied  most  of  the  chairs, 

"  The  first  argument  had  been  concluded  when  I  arrived  - 
it  was  conducted  by  an  Italian  secular  priest,  whose  name  I 
could  not  learn.  The  second  was  made  by  a  Dominican  friar,, 
a  man  of  very  great  talent  and  ingenuity;  he  had  also  nearly 
concluded.  An  Infirmarian,  or  Crutched  friar,  conducted 
the  third  with  considerable  spirit  and  ability.  Next  suc- 
ceeded an  Irishman,  a  student  of  the  Roman  Seminary,  who 
did  argue  most  lustily  against  the  real  presence  and  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  Mass.  The  next  was  a  German  Jesuit,  well  known 
in  the  United  States,  Father  Kohlman,  who  for  nearly  half  ani 
hour  argued  eloquently  against  the  primacy  of  the  Holy  See- 
He  was  followed  by  Signor  Rosa,  one  of  the  minutanti  and 
a  professor  of  theology,  who  argued  against  the  power  of 
remitting  all  sins  in  the  sacrament  of  penance.  Dr.  Wise- 
man, Rector  of  the  English  College,  next  argued  for  the  figu- 
rative meaning  of  the  words  of  our  Saviour  in  the  institu- 
tion of  die  eucharist,  introducing  various  analogies  from. 
Per.sian,  Arabic,  and  other  Asiatic  writers,  some  of  which 


54  I^^f^  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

are  pompously  brought  forward  in  the  preface  to  ponderous 
tomes  of  polyglots  by  an  Oxford  doctor  of  modern  celebrity. 
The  celebrated  Monsignor  Mezzofanti  then  followed  up  with 
considerable  subtlety  and  acuteness,  when  the  great  bell 
announced  midday. 

"  The  young  American  had  now  been  upwards  of  four  hours 
sharply  engaged  in  scholastic  disputation,  in  the  Latin  lan- 
guage, with  men  of  various  nations  and  of  no  ordinary  cali- 
bre, and  had  not  failed  or  hesitated  in  a  single  answer. 

"  To  a  stranger,  the  style  of  this  mode  of  disputation  is  alto- 
gether a  novelty.  You  are  carried  back  by  the  introduction 
of  the  argument  to  all  the  pompous  style  of  ancient  heraldry 
and  regulated  courtesy  of  disputation.  The  disputant  gen- 
erally ^commences  by  a  high-wrought  compliment  to  the 
institution,  its  various  officers,  to  the  particular  professor  of 
the  science  against  which  he  is  to  make  his  assault,  to  the 
genius  and  erudition  of  the  defender ;  then  speaks  of  his 
own  defeats,  how  reluctant  he  is  to  couch  a  lance  against  so 
powerful  an  opponent ;  but  if  he  makes  a  pass  or  two,  it  is 
not  in  the  vain  hope  of  victory,  for  which  there  is  no  chance, 
but  that,  taught  by  the  prowess  he  will  elicit,  he  may  im- 
prove. He  then  commences  his  attack,  and  presses  on  gen- 
erally with  great  vigor. 

"  The  defendant,  in  turn,  professes  the  high  estimation  in 
which  he  holds  his  opponent,  introducing  in  his  description 
an  enumeration  of  the  offices  he  has  held,  the  honors  he  has 
obtained,  and  the  great  qualities  for  which  he  is  remarkable. 
Then  he  briefly  recapitulates  the  argument,  dissects  it,  and 
takes  its  separate  parts  for  successive  examination,  and,  after 
having  thus  disposed  of  it,  he  says  he  is  inclined  to  think  it 
not  so  strong  as  at  first  supposed. 

"  There  was  a  recess  for  rest,  dinner,  and  preparation  for 
the  afternoon.  But  on  this  occasion  the  assembly  was  more 
solemn.     The  disposition  of  the  church  was  similar  to  that 


Defejicc  of  The^ses  for  the  Doctor  s  Cap.      •  5  5 

of  the  hall.  The  dresses  were,  for  cardinals,  bishops,  and 
other  prelates,  what  are  called  robes  of  the  second  class — 
the  cardinals  in  red,  the  bishops  in  purple,  and  such  of  the 
other  prelates  as  were  entitled  to  it  in  the  same  color.  The 
.cardinals,  of  whom  only  seven  were  present,  sat  on  very  rich 
chairs  on  the  right  side  of  the  chapel.  Three  chosen  dispu- 
tants occupied  the  first  places  on  the  opposite  side  ;  then 
the  bishops  and  other  dignitaries.  The  Swiss  Guard  formed 
at  the  door  and  lined  the  passage.  The  exercises  began 
with  an  exceedingly  ingenious  argument  against  the  primacy 
of  St.  Peter,  made  with  great  tact  and  skill  by  the  prelate 
Raffaelle  Fornari,  Canonist  of  the*Penitentiaria,  former  Pro- 
fessor of  Theology  in  the  Propaganda,  and  a  man  of  the  very 
first  ability.  This  lasted  nearly  three-quarters  of  an  hour. 
The  second  was  on  the  subject  of  Grace,  by  Father  Perrone, 
a  Jesuit,  Professor  of  Dogmatic  Theology  in  the  Roman  Col- 
lege. This  is  a  man  of  the  most  profound  research  and  great 
logical  powers,  with  an  admirable  memory.  This  engagement 
lasted  half  an  hour.  Nearly  as  long  again  was  occupied  in 
an  argument  against  the  divine  character  of  Christianity  by 
Father  Modena,  Assistant  to  the  Master  of  the  Sacred  Palace, 
and  a  Dominican  friar. 

"  The  cardinals  rose  and  shook  hands  with  the  Kentuckian, 
who  was  carried  away  by  his  fellow-students  in  triumph."  * 

We  shall  now  for  a  moment  turn  our  attention  to  eccle- 
siastical affairs  in  Kentucky  during  the  time  that  Martin 
Spalding  was  in  Rome. 

Bishop  Flaget,  who  was  of  an  extremely  sensitive  disposi- 
tion, which  caused  him  to  suffer  greatly  from  disappointments 
and  afflictions,  had  several  times  during  the  quarter  of  a 
century  in  which  he  had  so  successfully  labored  in  Kentucky 
desired  to  be  relieved  of  the  responsibilities  and  cares  of  the 

*  Bishop  England's   Works,  vol.  iv.  p.   131. 


56r  Life  of  Archbishcp  Spalding, 

episcopal  office,  thinking,  in  his  great  humility,  that  he  was 
unable  to  bear  so  weighty  a  burden. 

After   repeated  solicitations,  he  at  length   succeeded,    in 
1832,  in  obtaining  from  the  Holy  See  the  acceptance  of  his- 
.resignation,  and  the  appointment  of  Bishop  David  to  the 
see  of  Bardstown,  with  Dr.  Chabrat  as  coadjutor. 

The  intelligence  of  these  changes,  which  was  received 
during  the  absence  of  Bishop  Flaget  from  the  diocese,  pro- 
duced very  general  and  great  dissatisfaction  both  among  the 
clergy  and  the  laity  of  Kentucky.  Bishop  David  protested 
against  his  unexpected  promotion,  and  the  whole  diocese 
was  filled  with  grief  at  tlie  loss  of  Bishop  Flaget,  who  was 
loved  and  revered  by  all  as  a  father. 

Bishop  Flaget,  when  the  news  of  the  excitement  in  Ken- 
tucky  reached  him,  was  in  St.   Louis.       He  perceived  the 
necessity  of  returning  at  once  to  his  old  diocese,  and  per- 
suaded Bishop  Rosati  to  accompany  him,  in  order  to  assist 
in  averting  the  storm  which  seemed  to  be  brewing.     They 
found,  upon  their  arrival,  that  the  report  of  the  general  dis- 
content among  both  priests  and  people  had  not  been  ex- 
aggerated.   The  new  state  of  things  had  been  brought  about 
so  unexpectedly   that    the    bishops   seemed  doubtful  what 
course  to  take.     Bishop  David  was  resolute  in  his  nolo  epis- 
copari.    Bishop  Flaget  was  convinced  that  age  and  infirmity 
rendered  it  impossible  that   he    should    again    assume    the 
duties  of  the  episcopal  office  ;    and  all  seemed  to  feel  that 
Dr.  Chabrat  would  not  be  acceptable  either  to  the  priests 
or  people  of    Kentucky.      Something,  however,  had  to  be 
done,  and  the  bishops,  after  having  considered  all  the  bear- 
ings of   the   case,  finally  determined  to  petition  the   Holy 
See  to  accept  the  resignation  of  Bishop  David,  and  to  dis- 
pose at  will  of  Bishop  Flaget  and  Dr.  Chabrat. 

The  following  spring,  an   answer  to  the  petition  was  re- 
ceived  from  the   Holy  Father,  in  which  he  accepted   the 


Defence  of  Theses  for  the  Doctor  s  Cap.         5  7 

resiLJiiation  of  Bishop  David,  and  reinstated  Bishop  Flaget 
as  Bishop  of  Bardstown.  Nothing  was  said  concerning  the 
appointment  of  Dr.  Chabrat.  Thus  Bishop  Flaget's  efforts 
to  get  relief  from  the  cares  of  his  office  resulted,  for  the 
time  at  least,  in  depriving  him  of  a  coadjutor  and  throwing 
the  undi\ided  burden  back  upon  his  own  shoulders.  In 
his  sensitive  state  of  mind,  this  was  very  distressing  ;  and 
he  was  unable  to  find  peace  or  rest  until  he  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  from  Rome  the  appointment  of  Dr. 
Chabrat  as  his  coadjutor.  The  bulls  arrived  on  the  29th 
of  June,  1834,  and,  in  precisel}-  a  month  from  the  day  of 
their  reception,  Dr.  Chabrat  was  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Bolina,  in  partilnis  iufidclium,  and  Coadjutor  of  the  Bishop 
of  Bardstown.  Bishop  Chabrat,  though  an  excellent  priest 
and  a  most  worthy  gentleman,  was  never  a  favorite  with  the 
priests  and  Catholic  people  of  Kentucky,  many  of  whom 
were  opposed  to  his  appointment.  It  is  to  this  feeling  that 
certain  remarks  of  Bishop  Flaget,  in  the  following  letter  to 
Martin  Spalding,  refer.  The  letter  is  dated  the  17th  of 
May,  1834: 

"  Dear  Martin  : 

"  The  peace  and  the  mercy  of  God  be  with  you  !  I  must 
pay  you  my  compliments  for  having  raised  yourself  above 
his  Eminence  the  Cardinal- Prefect.  In  his  last  letter,  he 
promised  that,  ineunte  vere,  you  should  start  for  your  dio- 
cese ;  but  it  appears  that  his  eminence  had  not  consulted 
you,  as,  according  to  Benedict's  letter,  you  will  not  leave 
Rome  before  next  August,  after  having  completed  your 
studies  and  made  a  public  defence  of  theses.  The  holy 
will  of  God  be  done!  If  this  delay  turn  to  your  improve- 
ment and  the  good  of  the  church,  as  I  hope  it  will,  I  am 
content ;  for  I  have  no  other  aim  than*  the  glory  of  God 
and   the   honor  of  the   church.     Be   sure  that  a  larije  field 


-58  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

awaits  you  in  Kentucky,  and,  let  your  learning,  piety,  and 
zeal  be  never  so  eminent,  we  will  give  you  abundant  oppor- 
tunity of  putting  them  to  use.  Your  modesty  in  asserting 
that,  after  four  years  of  great  application  to  study,  you 
have  scarcely  learned  the  catechism  of  divinity  pleases  me 
very  much.  You  have  said  nothing  that  is  not  true,  but  to 
have  sufficient  candor  to  acknowledge  it  is  praiseworthy. 
What  must  you  think  of  my  dear  Kentucky  missionaries, 
who  have  been  ordained  after  three  years  of  theology, 
having,  whilst  studying,  to  teach  daily  several  hours  in  the 
-college  ?  When  you  and  my  dear  James  return,  we  will 
establish  the  seminary  on  a  better  basis,  I  hope.  If  you 
:succeed  well  in  your  public  examinations,  and  praises  are 
bestowed  upon  you,  receive  them,  my  dear  Martin,  with 
gratitude,  but  immediately  refer  them  to  God.  It  is  better 
to  have  moderate  talents  with  humility  than  to  have  emi- 
nent gifts  with  pride  and  vanity.  Let  me  say,  en  passant, 
-that  my  young  Propagandist  has  favored  those  who  opposed 
the  Rev.  M.  Chabrat's  appointment.  This,  my  dear  child, 
is  imprudent,  to  say  the  least,  and  calculated  to  wound  my 
feelings.  Yet  I  forgive  you  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart, 
■on  account  of  your  want  of  experience  of  the  ways  of  the 
world,  having  been  all  your  life  a  stranger  to  its  malice  and 
wickedness.  When  you  visit  the  Limina  Apostolorum,  beg 
all  the  apostles  to  obtain  strength  for  me  in  my  trials, 
which  are  many  and  sometimes  almost  intolerable." 

The  reply  to  this  letter  of  Bishop  Flaget  was  written  by 
Martin  Spalding,  now  the  Rev.  Dr.  Scalding,  on  the  eve  of 
setting  out  on  his  journey  home : 

"■  Rt.  Rev.  Father  in  Christ  : 

"  I  should  have«answered  your  letter  long  since,  but  my 
occupations  during  the  few  weeks  which  preceded  my  de- 


Defe7ice  of  Theses  for  the  Doctor  s  Cap.        59 

parture  from  Rome  crowded  upon  me  with  such  pressure 
that  I  could  not  find  even  a  moment's  time  to  devote  to  my 
good  old  father  in  Christ.  After  my  public  disputation,  I 
entered  into  a  retreat  which  lasted  two  weeks,  to  prepare 
myself  for  the  reception  of  holy  orders.  I  was  ordained 
sub-deacon  on  the  3d,  deacon  on  the  loth,  and  priest  on  the 
13th  of  August,  by  a  special  dispensation  of  the  Holy  Fa- 
ther, which  I  asked  myself,  and  on  the  15th  I  started  on  my 
journey  homeward.  From  the  hurry  in  which  I  received 
Jioly  orders,  and  my  haste  in  leaving  Rome  after  my  ordi- 
nation, you  may  conclude  that  my  delay  here  has  not  been 
■voluntary,  or  because  of  my  having  raised  myself  above 
his  Eminence  Cardinal  Pedicini,  as  you  seem  to  think.  No, 
■beloved  father,  the  will  of  my  superiors  alone,  whom  I  am 
bound  to  obey,  caused  me  to  delay  so  long  to  return  to  you  ; 
though,  strictly  speaking,  I  have  not  delayed  at  all,  since 
the  course  of  theology  in  the  Propaganda  is  of  four  years, 
and,  even  counting  my  first  year  here,  in  which  sickness 
prevented  me  from  studying,  I  have  been  in  Rome  but  four 
years.  However,  I  have  simply  been  obedient  to  the  ex- 
press will  of  my  superiors,  to  whom,  if  fault  there  be,  the 
fault  must  be  imputed. 

"  Dear  father,  never  have  I  passed  any  time  of  my  life  in 
such  perfect  happiness  as  the  two  weeks  which  I  spent  in 
retreat  previous  to  my  ordination  ;  nor  have  I  ever  enjoyed 
before  the  peace  and  tranquillity  which  dwell  in  my  soul 
since  I  am  a  priest.  I  feel  as  if  I  were  in  a  new  world.  I 
have  dedicated  myself  wholly,  entirely,  and  permanently  to 
God  in  the  priesthood.  By  the  help  of  his  holy  grace,  I 
hope  to  persevere  in  my  present  dispositions  to  the  close  of 
my  life,  and  thus  to  be  able  to  do  something  for  his  honor 
and  glory  on  the  missions  of  Kentucky. 

"  Be  assured,  dear  father,  that  you  shall  have  no  difficulty 
with  me  as  regards  reverence,  submission,  and  obedience  to 


6o  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding, 

my  bishop,  whomsoever  God  may  choose  or  has  chosen  tO' 
•\ppoint  I  liave  not  learned  insubordination  and  disobedi- 
ence within  the  walls  of  the  Propaganda.  I  have  always  es- 
teemed and  loved  the  Rev.  Mr.  Chabrat,  and  my  reverence 
for  him  will  be  increased  if  he  is  made  bishop.  In  short,  I 
promise  that,  with  the  grace  of  God,  I  shall  ever  be  obedient 
to  any  and  all  lawfully  constituted  authority  ;  this  promise 
I  made  at  my  ordination,  and  I  hope  never  to  violate  it.  A 
few  days  previous  to  my  departure,  I  went  to  say  farewell  tO' 
the  Holy  Father,  upon  which  occasion  I  presented  him  with, 
a  handsomely  bound  copy  of  my  theses.  He  seemed 
pleased,  received  me  with  the  greatest  kindness,  and  sends- 
through  me  a  thousand  blessings  to  you  and  your  whole 
diocese. 

"If  God  bless  my  homeward  journey,  I  shall  have  many- 
things  to  tell  you  when  the  great  joy  of  seeing  you  again: 
will  be  given  me." 


CHAPTER   V. 

ORDAINED  PRIEST — RETURNS  HOME — IS  MADE  PASTOR  OF 
THE  CATHEDRAL  IN  BARDSTOWN — PROFESSOR  IN  THE 
SEMINARY — THE    "  MINERVA." 

HE  four  years  which  Martin  Spalding  passed 
in  Rome  under  the  shadow  of  the  Vatican 
certainly  had  a  most  marked  and  beneficial  in- 
fluence upon  his  life.  The  very  surroundings  of 
the  place  taught  him  lessons  which  cannot  be  learned  from 
books.  Wherever  he  might  turn,  monuments  of  Christian 
faith  and  Christian  heroism  spoke  to  him  of  the  glories  of 
the  indefectible  church.  The  tombs  of  the  martyrs ;  their 
bones  ;  the  very  ground  which  they  had  watered  with  their 
blood,  in  testimony  of  Christ  ;  the  sacred  corridors  of  the 
Catacombs,  where  even  now  one  can  almost  hear  the  echoes 
of  the  footfalls  of  those  generations  of  Christian  heroes  who 
alone,  without  human  aid,  strong  only  in  their  faith  in  God 
and  the  purity  of  their  lives,  stood  up  and  battled  for  truth 
and  freedom  of  conscience  with  the  masters  of  the  world,  until 
at  last  their  persecutors  came  and  knelt  at  the  foot  of  the  cross, 
converted  by  the  very  blood  they  had  shed  ;  the  temples  of 
religion,  whose  material  structure  even  lifts  up  the  soul  to 
God,  and  bows  it  down  in  adoration  ;  all  the  arts,  which 
here  have  been  led  captive  in  the  train  of  religion,  and 
brought  each  to  add  a  jewel  to  her  immortal  crown  ;  the 
wonderful  and  inspiring  ceremonies  of  the  churcli,  which  in 
Rome  alone  are  seen  in  all  their  beauty  and   perfection — all 


62  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

this  could  not  but  have  a  beneficent  and  elevating  in- 
fluence upon  the  uncorrupted  and  generous  nature  of  this- 
young  American.  A  new  world  was  here  revealed  to  him^ 
and  his  soul  glowed  with  a  love  and  enthusiasm  which  it 
had  not  hitherto  known.  From  his  letters  we  have  seen 
how,  from  the  first  moment,  his  heart  went  out  in  love  to 
the  church  in  Rome,  "  whose  faith  is  spoken  of  in  the  whole 
world,"  even  as  a  child  leaps  into  the  arms  of  its  mother.. 
Upon  no  subject  was  he  more  entertaining  or  did  he 
speak  more  gladly  than  upon  that  of  Rome  ;  and  even  with 
regard  to  those  Roman  manners  and  customs  which,  to  an 
American,  appear  odd,  he  never  suffered  himself  to  indulge 
in  censure  or  harsh  criticism. 

In  Rome,  too,  he  was  thrown,  in  relations  more  or  less- 
intimate,  with  men  of  the  first  ability  and  the  greatest 
learning.  When  he  arrived.  Cardinal  Cappellari,  afterwards 
Gregory  XVI. — a  man  of  considerable  literary  attainments 
and  of  great  knowledge — was  the  Cardinal-Prefect  of  the 
Propaganda,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  he  received  the  young 
American  with  paternal  kindness,  and  never  ceased  to 
encourage  him  to  go  manfully  forward  in  the  way  upon 
which  he  had  entered. 

Count  Reisach,  a  German  nobleman — the  most  amiable 
of  men,  who  to  high  birth,  exalted  position,  and  great 
learning  added  the  charm  and  simplicity  of  manner  which 
Christian  virtue  alone  can  give — was  his  immediate  superior,, 
being  Rector  of  the  Propaganda.* 

Monsignor  Mai,  afterwards  Cardinal,  the  inventor  and 
restorer  of  the  palimpsests,  who,  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven, 
had  made  more  additions  to  the  stock  of  ancient  learning 

*  "  You  majr  depend  upon  it,"  said  Coleridge,  "religion  is,  in  its 
essence,  the  most  gentlemanly  thing  in  the  world.  It  will  alone  gentilize,  if 
unmixed  with  cant  ;  and  I  know  nothing  else  that  will,  «/(?«^.  Certainly  not 
the  army,  which  is  thought  to  be  the  grand  embellisher  of  manners." 


Rct7ir7is  Home.  d'^ 

than  a  century  had  done  before  him,  was  Secretary  of  the 
Propaganda,  which  gave  the  young  student  opportunity  of 
frequently  seeing  and  hearing  this  wonderful  man,  to  whom, 
after  his  return  to  the  United  States,  he  sometimes  wrote. 

Occasionally,  too,  he  was  permitted  to  converse  with  or, 
at  least,  to  hear  famous  men  who  were  not  immediately 
connected  with  the  Propaganda.  The  pontificate  of  Gregory 
XVI.  was  remarkably  fruitful  of  such  men.  Thus  Martin 
Spalding  was  made  acquainted  with  Mezzofanti,  Wiseman,. 
Theiner,  Palma,  Perrone,  and  others  of  scarcely  less  note. 
Nothiner  awakens  the  mind  of  the  student  like  the  contact 
of  higher  and  more  perfectly  developed  intellects;  and,  in 
the  present  instance,  the  illustrious  examples  of  so  many 
men  who,  by  their  brilliant  talents  and  great  learning,  were 
doing  or  had  already  done  so  much  for  the  honor  and 
glory  of  the  church  filled  him  with  a  noble  ambition  ta 
emulate  in  the  new  world  their  great  achievements  in  the 
old.  He  also  brought  with  him  from  the  Eternal  City,  as- 
he  states  in  his  letter  to  Bishop  Flaget,  the  spirit  of  obe- 
dience to  all  lawful  authority,  and,  I  may  add,  a  special 
love  and  veneration  for  the  visible  head  of  the  church,  with- 
out which  Catholic  obedience,  in  the  true  sense,  is  not  possi- 
ble. His  firm  hope  had  proven  to  be  well  founded — God 
had  permitted  him  to  finish  his  studies  and  to  become  a 
priest,  and  now,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  with  a  mind  well 
stored  and  a  heart  all  aglow  with  zeal,  he  was  prepared  to 
return  to  his  native  land  to  enter  upon  his  life  work. 

On  the  29th  of  August,  1834,  he  sailed  from  Leghorn  for 
New  York,  where  he  landed  on  the  26th  of  October.  "  I 
remember,"  said  Archbishop  McCloskey,  referring  to  this^ 
"  the  day  and  date  full  well,  because  I  myself  was  then  just 
on  the  eve  of  departure  for  that  holy  city  from  which  he 
came  ;  and  it  was  during  the  few  days  of  his  sojourn  in  New 
York  that  I  first  made  his  acquaintance,  which  soon  ripened 


64  Life  of  Archbishop   Spalduig. 

into  a  friendship  that  grew  and  strengthened  until  the  last 
day  of  his  life." 

On  his  way  home,  he  passed  through  Philadelphia  to  visit 
his  old  friend  and  professor,  Bishop  Kenrick,  who,  when  he 
set  out  on  his  journey  to  Rome  four  years  before,  was  still 
a  professor  in  the  seminary  at  Bardstown.  In  the  cathedral 
of  Philadelphia  he  preached  his  first  sermon  in  America. 
He  touched  the  soil  of  his  native  State  at  Louisville,  where 
he  remained  a  few  days  to  take  note  of  the  progress  which 
the  church  was  making  in  this  already  at  that  time  the 
most  important  city  in  Kentucky. 

Mother  Catherine  Spalding,  the  first  Mother-Superioress 
of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  in  Kentucky,  and  the  foundress  of 
the  St.  Vincent's  Orphan  Asylum  in  Louisville,  had  just 
begun  this  noble  work,  which,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
was  to  be  the  means  of  saving  so  many  helpless  children 
from  ruin  in  this  world  and  in  eternity. 

He,  of  course,  visited  the  asylum.  The  first  orphan  whom 
Mother  Catherine  ever  received,  who  is  now  distinguished 
alike  for  cultivation  of  mind  and  for  a  life  devoted  to  deeds 
of  charity,  has  described  that  visit  to  me  :  "  I  shall  never  for- 
get (these  are  her  words)  the  rosy,  beaming,  almost  boyish 
face,  so  full  of  intelligence,  so  perfectly  spiritual  in  its  whole 
expression,  as  it  appeared  in  the  poor  school-room  of  the 
orphans.  A  word  of  introduction  from  the  beloved  mother, 
a  tender  blessing,  and  in  a  moment  the  accomplished  scho- 
lar and  the  eloquent  priest  was  sitting  in  the  midst  of  thirty 
little  girls,  the  oldest  of  whom  was  not  twelve,  relating  his 
adventures  in  the  old  world,  telling  anecdotes  of  college 
life,  giving  graphic  pictures  of  famous  scenes  and  objects  of 
interest  in  Europe.  So  entertaining  was  the  narrator,  so 
lifelike  yet  simple  his  delineations,  that  his  hearers,  as 
many  an  audience  afterwards,  under  the  charms  of  his  elo- 
quence, lost  the  sense  of  the  passage  of  time."     Trivial  in 


Returns  Home.  65 

itself,  this  little  circumstance  is  worthy  of  record,  as  illustrat- 
ing one  of  the  most  marked  features  in  the  character  of 
Archbishop  Spalding,  which  was  his  great  love  of  children, 
and  the  wonderful  power  which  he  possessed  of  winning 
their  attention  and  sympathy. 

When  an  old  man,  broken  by  many  cares  and  many  labors, 
increasing  infirmity  forewarned  him  of  the  near  approach  of 
death,  he  requested  that  the  orphan  children  for  whom  he 
had  provided  a  home  might  follow  what  of  him  was  mortal 
to  the  grave. 

It  had  been  Bishop  Flaget's  intention,  it  appears,  to  make 
Dr.  Spalding  president  of  the  seminary  and  college  in 
Bardstown.  He  had  for  several  years  desired  to  establish 
in  his  own  diocese  a  college  modelled  after  that  of  the  Pro- 
paganda, in  which  he  would  be  able  to  train  up  a  band  of 
efficient  missionaries  for  the  great  West  ;  and  he  relied 
upon  his  Roman  students  to  assist  him  in  carrying  out 
this  plan. 

But  when  Dr.  Spalding  arrived  in  Kentucky,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Chabrat  had  been  made  coadjutor,  and  Bishop  Flaget 
was  preparing  for  a  journey  to  Europe,  which  in  all  proba- 
bility would  cause  him  to  be  absent  from  his  diocese  for 
several  years.  In  this  state  of  affairs,  Dr.  Spalding  was 
unwilling  to  take  charge  of  the  seminary,  and  he  was  there- 
fore made  pastor  of  the  cathedral.  St.  Joseph's  College 
was  at  this  time  managed  by  a  Board  of  Trustees,  under  the 
presidency  of  the  Bishop  as  moderator.  Dr.  Spalding  was 
at  once  elected  a  member  of  this  Board,  and  also  accepted 
the  professorship  of  philosophy  in  the  seminary.  The  Pro- 
paganda bound  its  students  by  solemn  promise  to  write  to 
the  Cardinal-Prefect  once  in  every  two  years  a  full  account  of 
their  labors  and  success  in  the  missions.  Dr.  Spalding  was 
scrupulously  faithful  to  this  obligation  up  to  the  time  when 
he  was  released  from  it  by  his  appointment  as  Coadjutor  of 


66  Life  of  'Archbishop  Spalding. 

Bishop  Flaget ;  and  from  these  letters  to  the  Propaganda, 
copies  of  most  of  which  I  have  been  able  to  procure,  we 
have  a  reliable  account  of  his  labors  on  the  missions  frorrt 
1834  to  1848. 

St.  Joseph's  Cathedral  was  built  by  Bishop  Flaget,  and 
dedicated  to  the  service  of  God  in  18 19.  It  was,  at  that 
time  and  for  many  years  after,  the  finest  church  in  the  West, 
The  congregation  was,  with  one  exception,  the  largest  in 
the  diocese.  Four  stations,  at  which  Mass  was  said^ 
were  attached  to  it,  and  received  monthly  visits  from  the 
pastor.  The  whole  number  of  souls  committed  to  the 
pastoral  care  of  Dr.  Spalding  was  about  fifteen  hundred. 
Of  these,  he  says,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  the  Propaganda,, 
nearly  eight  hundred  approached  the  sacraments  monthly. 
On  Sundays,  he  sang  Mass  and  preached  in  the  cathedral, 
and  during  the  week  visited  one  or  other  of  the  stations, 
where  he  also  preached  and  administered  the  sacraments. 
He  seems  to  have  labored  with  remarkable  success ;  for, 
besides  the  large  number  of  monthly  communicants  referred 
to,  he  occasionally  in  his  letters  makes  mention  of  the  con- 
version of  Protestants.  In  two  years,  he  received  into  the 
church  not  less  than  fifty  converts,  which  was  certainly  a 
very  considerable  number  in  so  small  a  place  as  Bardstown. 

He  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  instructing  the  young^ 
and  ignorant,  especially  the  negroes,  of  whom  there  was  a 
large  number  in  his  congregation. 

The  tone  of  his  letters  at  this  time  shows  with  what 
earnestness  and  healthful  zest  he  had  entered  upon  hiS' 
apostolical  labors.  He  is  not  impatient,  he  is  not  too  eager, 
but  he  finds  rest  only  in  work  ;  and  the  more  he  does,  the 
more  he  feels  the  need  of  doing.  Much  had  been  done,  but 
much  more  remained  to  be  done.  The  condition  of  pro- 
gress is  that,  as  we  advance,  the  still  greater  effort  must  we 
make  to  go  yet  further. 


Pastor  at  Bards  town.  '        67 

He  is  wholly  absorbed  in  his  vocation,  and  all  the  currents 
of  his  life  are  tributary  to  his  soul's  high  purpose.  He 
preaches,  he  hears  confessions,  he  visits  the  sick,  he  teaches 
the  ignorant,  and,  when  he  has  nothing  else  to  do,  he  flies 
back  to  his  dear  books,  the  ever-welcome  companions  of  his 
vacant  hours. 

He  had  but  one  kind  of  duty,  but  one  love,  but  one 
spouse  to  whom  he  had  plighted  the  troth  of  his  soul  ;  his 
life  was  undivided,  and  he  was  happy.  They  who  think  a 
wifeless  man  unblcst  know  naught  of  the  life  of  the  soul  in 
itself  and  in  God.  There  is  a  manner  of  life  so  high,  so  cer- 
tain of  its  course,  so  perfectly  harmonious  with  the  deepest 
cravings  and  highest  instincts  of  the  heart,  that  the  soul 
which  has  tasted  of  its  delights  asks  for  no  other  blessed- 
ness here  on  earth.  It  does  not  crave  ;  it  could  not  bean 
closer  contact  with  flesh  and  blood. 

The  world  has  not,  I  believe,  a  body  of  men  who  are: 
more  contented,  better  satisfied  with  their  lot  in  life  and  the: 
work  which  they  are  doing,  than  the  priests  of  the  Catholic- 
Church, 

Shortly  after  Dr.  Spalding's  return  home,  the  faculty  of 
St.  Joseph's,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  began  the  publica- 
tion of  the  first  Catholic  periodical  ever  issued  in  Kentucky^ 
under  the  title  of  the  St.  JosepJis  College  Minerva. 

The  Minerva  was  a  monthly  magazine,  and,  though  under 
the  control  of  Catholics,  it  was  rather  literary  than  religious. 
in  its  character. 

Dr.  Spalding  was  its  leading  contributor,  and  made,, 
through  its  columns,  his  first  appearance  as  an  essayist 
and  reviewer. 

He  wrote  for  it  a  series  of  papers,  in  which  he  reviewed  a 
jfourttal  of  Travels  in  Southern  Europe ;  and  also  an  essay 
on  tlie  Study  of  History.  In  a  paper  entitled  TliougJits  on 
Man,  he  introduces  a  student,  who,  after  having  travelled 


68       '  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

over  Europe,  seeks  the  mountains  of  Switzerland  to  indulge 
his  love  of  soHtude  and  meditation  in  presence  of  the  sub- 
limest  scenes  in  nature.  Where  Sovran  Blanc,  the  monarch 
of  mountains,  raises  his  bald  and  awful  head  from  out  the 
silent  sea  of  pines,  he  sits  him  down  and  communes  with 
the  world  around  him,  and  from  the  created  rises  to  the 
Creator  ;  and  then,  turning  his  thoughts  back  upon  his  own 
soul,  he  argues,  from  its  infinite  longings  and  aspirations,  its 
immortality. 

A  few  passages  from  this  essay  will  serve  as  examples  of 
Dr.  Spalding's  style  in  his  earliest  literary  efforts: 

"  Thus  situated,  he  viewed  and  examined  all  the  beauty 
and  grandeur  which  nature  spread  before  him.  He  con- 
templated the  earth,  with  its  mountains,  and  valleys,  and 
varied  landscapes.  His  mind  ranged  among  the  multitudi- 
nous departments  and  branches  of  the  mineral,  vegetable, 
and  animal  kingdoms,  catching  glimpses  of  the  principal 
beauties  of  each,  and  feasting  upon  the  general  order  and 
symmetry  of  the  great  whole.  He  then  endeavored,  by  the 
light  of  reason,  to  reduce  the  phenomena  of  nature  to  their 
proper  causes,  and  was  delighted  to  find  that  these 
and  all  that  falls  under  man's  observation  consti- 
tute one  splendid  and  united  aggregate,  without  the 
slightest  break  of  harmony  or  the  least  dissonance  of  parts. 
Even  those  objects  which,  viewed  separately,  seemed  out  of 
place,  tended,  when  considered  in  relation  to  the  whole,  to 
increase  the  general  symmetry.  Having  in  spirit  traversed 
the  varied  beauties  of  earth,  he  turned  his  enraptured  gaze 
to  heaven.  His  unchained  thought  travelled  through  those 
boundless  regions  of  ether,  studded  with  worlds,  and,  under 
the  luminous  guidance  of  Astronomy,  explored,  as  far  as 
man's  contracted  span  will  permit,  the  various  relations  and 
several  beauties  of  those  brilliant  orbs  that  roll  above  us. 
Yet  notwithstanding  the  vastness  and  immeasurable   gran- 


The  "•Minei'va''  69 

deur  of  the  universe  ;  notwithstandiiii^  the  great  multiplicity 
and  variety  of  its  parts,  what  order,  what  harmony,  what 
unity !  Not  a  single  stone  is  misplaced  in  the  splendid 
edifice ;  not  a  flaw  in  the  noble  vase.  The  unity  of  the 
work  argues  intelligence  and  design  in  the  artist.  Such 
symmetry  could  not  be  the  result  of  blind  chance — a  name 
to  which  no  reality  corresponds.  Who,  enquired  he,  fitted 
together  with  so  masterly  a  hand  the  various  parts  of  the 
universe  ? 


"What  hand  behind  the  scene, 
What  arm  almighty,  put  these  wheeling  globes 
In  motioa,  and  wound  up  the  vast  machine? 
Who  rounded  in  his  palm  these  spacious  orbs? 
Who  bowled  them  flaming  through  the  dark  profound, 
Numerous  as  glittering  gems  of  morning  dew, 
•  .••  ..•• 

And  set  the  bosom  of  old  night  on  fire? 

Who  marshals  this  bright  host,  enrols  their  names, 
Appoints  their  posts,  their  marches,  and  returns, 
Punctual  at  stated  periods?     Who  disbands 
These  veteran  troops,  their  final  duty  done — 
If  e'er  disbanded?" 

Having  concluded  that  "  earth,  with  her  thousand  voices, 
calls  on  God,"  he  asks  himself  what  are  his  own  relations 
to  this  Infinite  Being.  The  soul  craves  for  happiness  ;  its 
desires,  like  an  inverted  cone,  expand  without  limit  ;  pos- 
session never  satisfies  it ;  in  the  highest  state,  it  seeks  a 
still  higher;  it  swallows  up  time,  and  feels  the  worthless- 
ness  of  whatever  ceases  to  be  ;  it  shrinks  back  on  itself,  and 
startles  at  the  thought  of  destruction. 


'to' 


'Tis  the  divinity  that  stirs  within  us; 
'Tis   Heaven  itself  that  points  out  an  hereafter 
And     inimates  eternity  to  man." 


70  Life  of  ArchbisJiop   S paid  in  or. 

In    the    mountains    of   Switzerland,  the    young    tra'  .^'^• 
meets   with    a    sage    who,    disgusted    with    the    work'    !i?/ 
sought  solitude,  that  undisturbed  he  might  commur/.  with 
God    and    nature.     He    had    passed    through    the    ev citing 
scenes  of  the   French    Revolution,  the   Consulate,  .'r.<d   the 
Empire,  and  the  conversation  turns  upon  the  sociai  state. 
The  various  opinions  of  philosophers  concerning  the  origin 
of  society  are  discussed,  and  the   hermit  concludes  "  that 
whatever  may  be  said  of  the  origin  of  society,  its  primary 
end  is  the  welfare  of  the  members   that  compose  it ;    that 
however  true  may  be  the   maxim   that  individual  interest 
should   be  sacrificed  to  the  general  good,  it  should  not  be 
pushed   to  the  extent  of  endangering  the   interests  of  the 
majority;    and  that  when  a  government,  in  whatever  man- 
ner it   may  be  organized,  ceases  to  be  advantageous  to  the 
■majority,  it  should  be  exchanged  for  another  more  suitable 
to  existing  circumstances.     The  obligatory  bonds  of  society, 
however  unjust  and   tyrannical  may  have  been  the  means 
resorted     to     for    its     formation,    originate    in    a    contract, 
-whether   express  or  implied,  between  "CaQ  governed  z.ndi  \\-\q 
governing — a  contract  the  obligation  of  which  is  as  sacred 
as  its  fulfilment  is  all-important.     And  when  one  party  is 
guilty  of  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  contract — of  an  infringe- 
ment that  involves  the  most  serious  evils — the  other  can,  as 
is  of  the  nature  of  a  contract,  reclaim  its  rights,  and  sue  for 
indemnity  in  the  highest  chancery  of  either  earth  or  heaven. 
"  The  justness  of  your  remarks  cannot   be  questioned," 
rejoined  Viator,   "  whatever  'hypothesis   may  be  made    re- 
garding   the   formation   of   society,   or  whichsoever  of   the 
many  forms   of  government  we    may    choose    to   consider, 
whether  monarchical,  aristocratical,   republican,    or  mixed. 
These    principles   appear  to   be   founded   in  the   nature   of 
things,  and    are,  of  course,  unchangeable.     The  governors 
.and  legislators  are  for  the  people,  not  these  for  those." 


<^ 


HAPTER   VI. 


THE   "  CATHOLIC    ADVOCATE    — RELIGIOUS    JOURNALISM — 
EFFORTS   TO   EXTEND    ITS   INFLUENCE. 

HE  Minerva,  as  I  have  already  stated,  was  rather 
a  literary  than  a  religious  magazine.  The  in- 
crease of  Catholics,  as  well  as  the  ability  which 
the  young  editors  of  the  Minerva  had  shown, 
led  many  to  think  that  the  church  in  Kentucky  was  now 
able  to  establish  and  support  a  journal  specially  devoted  to 
the  defence  of  Catholic  principles.  Of  the  great  need  of 
such  a  journal  there  could  be  no  doubt. 

The  Protestant  preachers  of  that  day  were  very  active,  and 
had  all  the  impudence  of  ignorance  in  the  reckless  misstate- 
ment of  Catholic  teachings  and  practices.  Books  in  defence 
of  the  church  could  not  be  so  easily  got  as  at  present,  and 
€ven  those  which  could  be  had  often  failed  to  grasp  the 
precise  phase  of  religious  thought  with  which  the  Catholics 
of  the  West  had  to  contend.  Scattered  through  the  State, 
they  were  frequently  unable,  owing  to  the  small  number  of 
missionaries,  to  see  a  priest  more  than  twice  or  three  times 
in  the  year,  and  hence  could  not  be  well  instructed  in  the 
•doctrines  of  their  faith. 

The  aggressive  character  of  the  Protestant  population  in 
the  days  of  camp-meetings  and  jerking  revivals,  when  super- 
stition and  bigotry  caused  thousands  to  believe  in  childish 
credulity  that  the  Pope  was  Antichrist,  and  that  Roman 
Catholics  had  horns  and  cloven  feet,  made  the  defect  of 
thorough  religious  training  among  Catholics  more  keenly 
felt. 


*]2  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

The  necessity  of  establishing  a  Catholic  journal  which, 
whilst  inculcating  sound  doctrine,  would  be  able  to  lay  hold 
on  each  calumny  as  it  would  rise,  and  crush  it,  or  at  least 
deaden  its  effect,  was  urgent.  For  these  reasons,  at  the 
close  of  the  first  year  of  its  existence  the  Miiierva  ceased 
to  appear,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Catholic  Advocate,  a 
weekly  journal. 

Of  this  paper  Dr.  Spalding,  whilst  continuing  to  dis- 
charge his  duties  as  pastor  and  professor,  became  chief 
editor,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  G.  A.  Elder,  the  Rev.  H.  De- 
luynes,  who  afterwards  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  the 
Rev.  William  E.  Clark. 

The  first  number,  which  appeared  in  February,  1835,  con- 
tained the  following  straightforward  and  manly  appeal  to 
the  public  : 

"  The  fact  that  Catholics  are  a  vigorous  and  energetic 
body  cannot  be  denied.  Their  continued  action,  like  that 
of  their  fathers  in  the  faith,  derives  a  new  stimulus  from 
misfortune  and  oppression.  It  must  ultimately  be  pro- 
ductive of  much  good  or  of  much  evil.  The  spirit  which 
animates  them  is  powerful,  and,  it  would  seem,  from  the 
history  of  eighteen  centuries,  unconquerable.  Its  tendency 
is  highly  useful,  or  dangerous  in  the  extreme.  If  they  are 
what  they  are  said  to  be,  let  them  be  doomed  to  disgrace 
and  ruin  ;  their  fate  will  be  just.  If  they  are  honest  and 
slandered  men,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  liberal  and  intelligent 
portion  of  their  fellow-citizens  to  support  and  shield  them 
against  sectarian  bigotry. 

"  The  verdict  of  public  opinion  should  never  be  given 
but  after  a  patient  and  dignified  hearing  of  the  accused. 
Hence,  on  the  part  of  the  public,  the  duty  of  listening  to 
their  vindication,  and  examining  into  the  merits  of  their 
cause ;  and,  on  the  part  of  the  Catholics,  the  still  more 
^acred  obligation  of  appearing  at  the  bar  of  their  country. 


The  "  Catholic  Advocate"  73 

and  stating  their  principles,  their  behef,  their  practice  as 
Christians  and  as  citizens.  In  some  cases,  not  to  confute  is 
to  confess  the  charges.  Silence  would  be  in  these  circum- 
stances treachery  to  themselves,  a  virtual  and  cowardly 
abandonment  of  their  rights  as  free-bom  Americans,  and 
even  a  sort  of  apostasy  from  the  religion  which  they  pro- 
fess. 

"  The  language  of  their  actions  has  hitherto  been,  it  is 
true,  clear  and  strong.  Upon  all  occasions  they  have  proved 
themselves  peaceful,  patriotic,  and  brave  ;  prodigal  alike  of 
their  blood  and  of  their  intellectual  resources  for  the  benefit 
of  all.  In  the  hour  of  danger,  they  have  fought  under  the 
banner  of  their  country.  In  the  time  of  peace,  they  have 
devoted  their  energies  to  the  education  of  her  youth,  that 
vital  part  of  the  republican  system.  But  the  religious  ex- 
citement, or  hypocrisy  of  designing  men,  heeds  not  or  mis- 
construes that  language,  so  intelligible,  we  hope,  to  the 
majority  of  our  fellow-citizens.  It  is  lost  upon  those  men, 
in  whose  breast  a  holy  zeal,  as  they  call  it,  for  the  cause  of 
Christianity  and  the  welfare  of  their  country  has  not  left 
even  a  faint  vestige  of  the  true  American  spirit.  The  love 
of  God  and  mankind  is,  in  these  men,  incompatible  with  a 
sense  and  exercise  of  toleration  and  justice.  They  form,  we 
know,  a  minority ;  but  if  they  are  comparatively  few,  they 
are  vigilant,  active,  untiring.  They  penetrate  and  act  every- 
where. In  the  legislative  hall  and  in  the  humblest  cabin,  in 
the  pulpit  and  during  the  convivial  hour,  or  in  the  domestic 
circle,  the  voice  of  slander  is  heard,  and  solemnly  proclaims, 
or  insidiously  whispers,  dark  things  of  the  Catholics.  Their 
institutions  are  slandered,  their  tenets  perverted,  their' at- 
tachment and  fidelity  to  their  country  denied,  the  public  in- 
dignation and  proscriptive  measures  openly  invoked  against 
them  ;  and,  did  we  not  know  that  we  live  in  the  nineteenth 
century — that  we  tread  the  American  soil — that  we  breathe 


74  Life  of  Archbishop  Spaldiiig. 

the  free  air  of  a  republic — that  the  march  of  religious  tolerc 
tion  is  onward — we  might  fear  a  return  of  those  dark  an 
bloody  times  when  the  fiend  of  persecution  reared  his  ho; 
rid  head  and  appalled  the  world.     The  press  wafts  on  her 
mighty  wings,  and  spreads,  in  every  place,  from  Maine  to 
Florida,    contempt    and    distrust    for    Catholic    principles, 
Catholic  practices.  Catholic  institutions,  and,  what  is  still 
more  alarming,  the   persons  of  Catholics.     The  journalist, 
the  novel-writer,  the  essayist,  and  the  divine  unite  to  bring 
about  this  same  end,  and  to  crush  the  devoted  Catholic. 

"  In  several  parts  of  the  Union,  our  religious  papers  have 
done  much  to  counteract  the  evil.  But,  as  the  attack  is,  so 
the  defence  should  be,  commensurate  with  our  soil.  Upon 
every  point  stands  an  enemy,  therefore  from  every  point 
should  spring  a  friend  and  protector. 

"  With  these  views,  and  with  due  acknowledgment  of  the 
merits  of  our  already  established  periodicals,  we  offer  the 
Catholic  Advocate  to  the  West,  to  Kentucky,  and  principally 
to  our  brethren  in  the  faith. 

"  Our  object  is  not  attack,  but  defence.  There  is  no  sec- 
tarian rancor,  no  fanatical  zeal  in  us.  We  cheerfully  grant 
to  others  what  we  claim  for  ourselves — freedom  of  con- 
science, freedom  of  debate,  and  unmolested  enjoyment  of 
equal  rights. 

"  We  say  to  our  brethren  in  Kentucky — Arouse  and  sup- 
port your  own  cause  ;  you  will  not  appeal  in  vain  to  the 
intelligence,  equity,  and  constitutional  spirit  of  your  coun- 
trymen ;  an  opportunity  is  now  offered  you  of  dispelling  the 
dark  cloud  of  prejudice  which  overhangs  the  minds  of  many. 
Give  the  Catholic  Advocate,  by  a  general  support,  extensive 
circulation  and  power.  Let  that  paper  be  in  the  house'  of 
every  Catholic  in  this  State.  If  it  fail  because  you  will  not 
have  supported  it  ;  if  your  name  continue  to  be  a  by-word 
of  scorn,  accuse  not  Protestant  prejudices,  charge  not  the 


Religious  yournalism,  75 

times  with  error  and  bigotry,  blame  not  your  country,  but 
yourselves,  who  sit  silent  and  unconcerned  whilst  your  ene- 
mies brand  upon  you — '  Traitors  and  Idolaters.'  " 

Religious  journalism  was  at  this  time  in  its  infancy.  A 
.quarter  of  a  century  before,  there  was  not  a  newspaper  in 
America  devoted  to  the  interests  of  any  church  or  denomina- 
tion of  Christians.  The  influence  of  the  press  in  defending 
.and  propagating  faith  was  comparatively  unknown.  It  was 
but  twelve  years  since  Bishop  England  had  established  the 
.Catholic  Miscellany,  which  Archbishop  Hughes  called  the 
ifirst  really  Catholic  journal  in  the  United  States.  When 
the  Advocate  was  founded,  there  were  but  four  Catholic 
newspapers  in  the  country.  These  were  the  Catholic  Mis- 
.cellany,  of  Charleston  ;  the  Truth-Teller,  of  New  York;  the 
Catholic  Herald,  of  Philadelphia ;  and  the  Catholic  Telegraph, 
■of  Cincinnati.  * 

Others,  such  as  the  Shamrock,  the  Jesuit,  and  the  Green 
Banner,  had  come  into  life,  and,  after  a  short  and  feeble  ex- 
istence, had  died.  The  young  editors  of  the  Advocate  were 
not,  however,  discouraged. 

Sperat  infestis,  metuit  secundis 
Alteram  sortem  bene  preparatum 
Pectus, 

They  had  faith  in  the  mission  of  the  religious  press  in  this 
age,  and  especially  in  this  country. 

With  Americans,  Dr.  Spalding  used  to  say,  newspaper 
reading  is  a  passion  which  amounts  to  a  national  charac- 
teristic. In  the  Propaganda  the  American  students  were 
proverbial  for  their  eagerness  to  get  hold  of  journals,  whether 
religious  or  secular.  Now,  he  argued,  this  craving  must  be 
satisfied.  If  we  do  not  furnish  our  people  with  wholesome 
food,  they  will  devour  that  which  is  noxious.  He  believed 
the  American  people  to  be  frank,  honest,  and  open  to  con- 
*  There  was  also  a  German  Catholic  newspaper  in  Cincmnaii — /v.-y- 
Wa  k  rheitsfreund. 


76  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

viction.  Their  dislike  or  hatred  of  the  church  he  ascribed 
to  misapprehension  or  ignorance  of  her  history  and  teach- 
ings. Hence  he  beheved  that  if  the  truth  were  placed 
before  them  plainly,  simply,  and  fearlessly,  it  could  not  fail 
to  make  a  favorable  impression  upon  them.  He  therefore 
thought  that  to  the  Catholic  press  in  the  United  States  had 
been  given  a  providential  mission  of  the  greatest  importance, 
Americans  have  not  time,  or  will  not  take  the  trouble,  as 
a  general  thing,  to  read  heavy  books  of  controversy.  Com- 
paratively few  Protestants  ever  enter  our  churches,  and, 
even  when  there,  everything  seems  strange,  and  the  sermon 
intended  for  Catholics  most  frequently  fails  to  tell  upon 
those  who  have  not  faith.  And  yet  we  must  reach  the  non- 
Catholic  mind.  "  The  charity  of  Christ  urges  us."  Apathy 
means  want  of  faith,  want  of  hope,  want  of  love.  Besides, 
the  church  must  act  intellectually  as  well  as  morally.  If  it 
is  her  duty  to  wrestle  ever  with  the  corrupt  tendencies  of  the 
human  heart,  to  point  to  heaven  when  men  seek  to  see  only 
this  earth,  to  utter  the  indignant  protest  of  the  outraged 
soul  when  they  would  fain  believe  themselves  only  animals  ^ 
it  is  not  less  a  part  of  her  divine  mission  to  combat  the  in- 
tellectual errors  of  the  world.  We  observe  in  the  history 
of  the  church  that  periods  of  intellectual  activity  are  almost 
invariably  characterized  by  moral  earnestness  and  religious 
zeal.  On  the  other  hand,  when  ignorance  invades  even  the 
sanctuary,  and  priests  forget  to  love  knowledge,  the  blood 
of  Christ  flows  sluggishly  through  the  veins  of  his  spouse, 
and  to  the  eyes  of  men  she  seems  to  lose  something  of  her 
divine  comeliness.  Indeed,  there  is  an  essential  connection 
between  the  thoughts  of  a  people  and  their  actions,  espe- 
cially in  an  age  like  ours  ;  and,  if  we  suffer  a  sectarian  and 
infidel  press  to  control  the  intellect  of  the  country,  our 
v/ords  will  fall  dead  and  meaningless  upon  the  hearts  of  our 
countrymen.     When  Dr.  Spalding  entered  upon  the  duties 


Religious  yournalism.  'j'j 

of  the  ministry,  Protestantism  was  just  assuming  that  aggres- 
sive attitude  towards  the  church  which  finally  culminated 
and,  in  a  great  measure,  spent  itself  in  the  Know-Nothing 
movement.  It  was  the  period  that  developed  the  contro- 
versies of  Hughes  and  Breckinridge,  and  Purcell  and 
Campbell,  in  both  of  which  the  foremost  champions  of  the 
Protestant  cause  met  with  signal  defeat.  The  almost  unani- 
mous verdict  of  Catholics  at  the  present  time  is,  so  far  as 
I  know,  that  these  discussions  proved  most  useful  to  the 
church.  Protestantism  was  defiant,  Catholics  were  calum- 
niated, and  the  doctrines  of  the  church  were  treated  as 
obsolete  superstitions  of  a  bygone,  barbarous  age,  which  no 
one  would  dare  defend  before  an  impartial  audience  in  the 
nineteenth  century.  Catholics  were  not  only  thought  to  be 
idolaters,  but  in  some  parts  of  the  country  the  ignorance  of 
the  people  represented  them  even  as  a  kind  of  monsters. 
English  Catholic  literature  was  extremely  poor,  the  neces- 
sary result  of  three  centuries  of  relentless  persecution  of 
the  church  wherever  the  English  language  was  spoken — a 
persecution  of  such  nature  that  it  rendered  it  almost  impos- 
sible for  Catholics  to  receive  an  education  and  yet  retain 
their  faith. 

The  young  men  who,  in  England  and  Ireland,  and  even 
in  this  country,  aspired  to  the  priesthood,  were  forced  to 
go  to  the  Continent  of  Europe  to  prepare  themselves  for 
the  reception  of  holy  orders.  It  is  not,  therefore,  surpris- 
ing that,  even  as  late  as  the  time  of  Bishop  Milner,  the 
priests  of  England  should  have  been  proverbially  ignorant 
of  their  own  language.  In  our  own  country,  many  of  the 
early  missionaries  were  foreigners,  who,  though  admirably 
endowed  with  all  the  qualities  that  make  true  apostles,  yet 
labored  under  the  serious  disadvantage  of  being  imperfectly 
acquainted  with  the  language  of  the  people  among  whom 
their  lot  was  cast. 


78  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

That  in  this  state  of  things  God  raised  up  in  his  church 
a  race  of  men  who  were  able  triumphantly  to  defend  her, 
even  against  the  most  gifted  adversaries,  was  certainly  pro- 
vidential. It  was  already  much  to  be  able  to  show  the 
Protestants  of  that  day  that  Catholics  had  nothing  to  fear 
from  the  public  discussion  of  the  grounds  of  their  faith. 
Catholics,  however,  in  this  country  have  never  provoked 
religious  controversy,  and  have  reluctantly  consented  to 
enter  into  it,  even  when  compelled  to  do  so.  Shortly  after 
his  return  from  Rome,  Dr.  Spalding  had  reason  to  believe 
that  he  would  be  drawn  into  a  public  discussion  with  a 
Protestant  minister  who  was  eager  to  show  his  skill  in  de- 
bate. Having  mentioned  this  in  a  letter  to  Bishop  Ken- 
rick,  of  Philadelphia,  he  received  from  him  the  following 
reply  : 

"  Our  controversy  here  is  at  an  end  ;  yours,  I  hope,  is 
not  begun.  Little  good  is  to  be  expected  from  discussions, 
with  men  who  are  resolved  at  all  hazards  to  win  a  triumph. 
Although  it  is  acknowledged  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes 
was  vastly  superior  to  his  adversary  in  sound  argument 
and  all  that  should  rfiark  clerical  debate,  yet  Catholics 
generally  think  and  feel  that  the  priesthood  is  lowered  by 
such  contests.     I   reluctantly  tolerated  it." 

However  much  the  amiable  and  gentle  nature  of  Bishop 
Kenrick  might  cause  him  to  regret  the  asperities  of  reli- 
gious controversy,  he  could  not  but  feel  that,  considering 
the  circumstances  of  the  times,  it  was  impossible  to  re- 
main silent  in  presence  of  the  belligerent  attitude  of  the 
enemies  of  the  church.  One  of  the  most  important  works 
with  which  he  has  enriched  Catholic  literature  grew  out  of 
a  controversy  which  had  been  forced  upon  him. 

No  one  could  be  more  averse  to  controversy  of  any  kind 
than  Dr.  Spalding ;  but,  from  the  first  year  of  his  priesthood 
down  to  the  day  of  his  death,  he  never  remained  silent  ia 


Religions  yotirnalism.  79 

the  presence  of  the  calumniators  of  liis  faith,  and  he  never 
suffered  an  attack  upon  the  doctrines  or  history  of  the 
church,  proceeding  from  a  source  worthy  of  notice,  to  pass 
without  reply.  Sincerely  loving  the  free  institutions  of 
his  country,  he  could  not  think  that,  whilst  all  the  world 
was  writing  and  speaking,  Catholics  alone  should  be  silent. 
He  had  too  much  faith  in  the  candor  and  sense  of  the 
American  people  to  doubt  that  anything  but  good  could 
come  of  the  frank  and  fearless  defence  of  Catholic  truth 
before  them.  As  free  institutions  provoke  thought,  en- 
quiry, and  the  consequent  collision  of  minds,  they  render 
intellectual  contests  a  necessity.  And  hence,  humanly 
speaking,  it  is  impossible  that  the  representatives  of  any 
system  of  doctrines  should  maintain  their  ground  in  a  free 
country  unless  they  enter  into  the  public  thought  of  the 
country  and  meet  their  adversaries  on  the  broad  field  of 
its  intellectual  life.  The  great  and  far-seeing  mind  of  Car- 
dinal Wiseman  perceived  this  truth,  and  he  acted  upon  it 
in  England  with  the  happiest  results.  In  the  Tractarian 
movement,  when  the  Church  of  England  was  divided  within 
itself,  and  her  own  children  were  engaged  in  the  most  lively 
controversies  with  one  another,  prudent  and  timid  Catholics 
counselled  their  brothers  to  abstain  from  all  interference  in 
what,  as  they  supposed,  did  not  concern  them. 

Far  from  accepting  these  counsels  of  fear,  Cardinal  Wise- 
man, with  the  co-operation  of  Daniel  O'Connell  and  others, 
founded  the  Dublin  Review,  precisely  that  he  might  be  able 
to  enter  into  the  intellectual  contest  which  was  then  agi- 
tating the  Anglican  Establishment. 

Referring  to  this  in  after  years,  when  Anglicanism  had 
been  forced  to  give  up  to  the  church  so  many  of  its  most 
devoted  and  gifted  sons,  he  wrote  : 

"  But  even  in  that  first  bud  of  the  rising  power,  it  was 
impossible  for  a  calm  and  hopeful  eye  not  to  see  new  signs 


So  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

in  the  religious  firmament  which  it  became  a  duty  to  ob- 
serve, unless  one  wished  to  incur  the  divine  reproach  ad- 
dressed to  those  who  note  not  the  providential  warnings  and 
friendly  omens  of  the  spiritual  heavens.  For  a  Catholic  to 
have  overlooked  all  this,  and  allowed  the  wonderful  phe- 
nomenon to  pass  by,  not  turned  to  any  spiritual  purpose, 
but  gazed  at  till  it  died  out,  would  have  been  more  than 
stupidity — it  would  have  been  wickedness.  To  watch  its 
progress;  to  observe  its  phases;  to  influence,  if  possible,  its 
direction  ;  to  move  it  gently  towards  complete  attainment  of 
its  unconscious  aims  ;  and,  moreover,  to  protest  against  its 
errors,  to  warn  against  its  dangers,  to  provide  arguments 
against  its  new  modes  of  attack,  and  to  keep  lifted  up  the 
mask  of  beauty  under  which  it  had,  in  sincerity,  covered  the 
ghastly  and  soulless  features  of  Protestantism  ;  these  were 
the  duties  which  the  new  Review  undertook  to  perform,  or 
which,  in  no  small  degree,  it  was  expressly  created  to  dis- 
charge." 

The  whole  civilized  world,  to-day,  is  agitated  by  ques- 
tions much  deeper  and  more  general  than  those  which 
occupied  the  thoughts  of  the  Oxford  Tractarians.  Protes- 
tantism has  drifted  out  from  among  the  vital  issues  of  the 
age.  As  a  system  of  doctrines,  it  is  a  mere  wreck.  Ques- 
tions which  concern  the  fundamental  and  primary  truths  of 
all  religion  now  fill  the  miitds  of  thinking  men.  These 
questions  are  no  longer  confined  to  the  pages  of  heavy  and 
unwieldy  volumes,  read  only  by  students.  No  sooner  does 
a  serious  book  appear,  seeming  to  throw  light  upon  doubt- 
ful points,  than  its  results  are  epitomized  by  the  reviewer 
and  the  essayist,  and  thus  made  the  theme  of  conversation 
in  the  select  circles  of  the  better  educated  classes.  From 
the  quarterlies  and  monthlies  they  find  their  wa\',  in  a 
diluted  form,  into  the  daily  press,  where  they  are  spread 
before    the    devouring   eyes    of  the    millions.     The    whole 


Religious  Jour^ialistn.  8i 

secular  press,  with  its  thousand  mouths,  proclaims,  without 
ceasing,  by  day  and  by  niglit,  errors  which  imply  the  nega- 
tion of  God  and  of  the  soul,  the  subversion  of  religion  and 
society.  May  we  not  say,  with  Cardinal  Wiseman,  that  it 
would  be  worse  than  stupidity,  it  would  be  positive  wicked- 
ness, for  Catholics  to  remain  idle  spectators  of  this  conflict 
of  the  church  with  the  world,  of  truth  with  error  ?  The 
school  question  is  certainly  one  of  vital  importance  in  our 
country  and  age  ;  but  is  the  education  received  in  the 
school-room  the  only,  or  is  it  even  the  chief  education  ? 
Does  not  society,  does  not  the  literature  of  a  country,  does 
not  the  press  educate  ? 

Dr.  Spalding,  with  that  practical  wisdom  which  so  emi- 
nently belonged  to  him,  saw,  as  by  intuition,  the  great  work 
which  the  press  in  this  country  was  destined  to  perform  in 
defending  and  propagating  Catholic  truth  ;  and  he  there- 
fore, from  the  very  first  year  of  his  priesthood,  labored  ear- 
nestly to  extend  its  influence  and  to  elevate  its  character. 
He  wrote  almost  constantly  for  the  Catholic  Advocate,  espe- 
cially during  the  earlier  years  of  its  existence,  though  his 
contributions  to  the  press  were  by  no  means  confined  to  its 
columns.  He  wrote  for  the  United  States  Catholic  Masra- 
zi7ie,  the  Catholic  Cabinet,  the  Metropolitan,  and  other  peri- 
odicals. For  several  years  he  was  one  of  the  editors  of  the 
Metropolitan,  in  which  many  of  the  essays  and  reviews 
afterwards  published  in  the  Miscellanea,  made  their  first 
appearance.  In  his  letters  to  the  Propaganda,  to  which  1 
have  already  referred,  he  makes  frequent  allusions  to  his 
efforts  to  defend  and  propagate  Catholic  doctrine  by  means 
of  the  press.  In  1858,  the  Advocate  having  ceased  to  ap- 
pear several  years  before.  Bishop  Spalding  founded  the 
Louisville  Guardian,  which  he  placed  under  the  editorial 
control  of  a  committee  of  laymen. 
Itoe  communicated  his  views  concerning  the  new  journal 


82  Life  of  A^^chbishop  Spalding. 

in  a  letter  to  Archbishop  Kenrick,  from  which  I  make  the 
following  extract  : 

"  We  are  about  to  start  a  new  Catholic  paper  here — the 
Guardian.  It  will  be  edited  by  a  committee  of  Catholic 
laymen,  who  will  take  control  of  it  under  the  auspices  of 
the  St.  Vincent's  Society.  We  intend  to  work  for  freedom 
of  education  and  for  the  poor,  to  try  to  do  something 
towards  arresting  the  great  evil  of  our  day — the  ruin  of 
Catholic  children.  The  great  seat  of  this  ruin  is  in  your 
Eastern  cities.  Hundreds  and  thousands  of  these  youths 
come  out  here  lost  for  ever.     God  help  our  poor  children  !  " 

Notwithstanding  the  many  cares  and  labors  of  the  epis- 
copal office,  Bishop  Spalding  found  time  to  write  something 
for  almost  every  number  of  the  Guardian,  down  to  the 
time  wdien  the  occupation  of  Kentucky  by  hostile  armies 
rendered  the  suspension  of  its  publication  necessary.  No 
enterprise  to  extend  the  influence  of  the  Catholic  press 
ever  failed  to  meet  with  his  most  cordial  approval.  One  of 
the  reasons  for  which  he  so  greatly  desired  to  see  a  Catholic 
university  founded  in  the  United  States,  was  that  he  be- 
lieved it  would  become  an  intellectual  centre  which  would 
give  to  the  Catholic  press  of  this  country  a  position  and  a 
power  which  no  efforts  that  have  hitherto  been  made  have 
been  able  to  obtain  for  it. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

PRESIDENT  OF  ST.  JOSEPH'S  COLLEGE— PASTOR  OF  ST. 
PETER'S  CHURCH,  IN  LEXINGTON— DIOCESE  OF  NASH- 
VILLE. 

N  1838,  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  St.  Joseph's  College,  Dr.  Spalding 
was  chosen  President  of  that  institution.  He 
had  been  pastor  of  the  cathedral  for  four  years, 
God  had  blessed  his  labors,  and  he  was  contented.  He,, 
moreover,  greatly  preferred  the  duties  of  the  ministry  to- 
those  which  devolve  upon  the  president  of  a  college.  He,, 
however,  accepted  the  office  contrary  to  his  own  wishes,  at 
the  urgent  request  of  Bishop  Flaget,  with  the  understand- 
ing that  he  should  be  permitted  to  resign  whenever  another 
capable  of  taking  the  position  could  be  found.  Bishop 
Flaget,  finding  that  he  was  anxious  to  return  to  what  he 
considered  a  more  apostolic  life,  permitted  him  to  retire 
from  the  college  at  the  end  of  two  years,  and  immediately 
appointed  him  pastor  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  in  Lexington, 
Kentucky. 

Lexington  lies  on  a  fork  of  the  Elkhorn  River,  in  the 
heart  of  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  fertile  districts  in 
the  world,  the  famous  Blue  Grass  region  of  Kentucky. 
When  Dr.  Spalding  was  sent  there,  in  1840,  it  was  the 
second  city  in  population  in  the  State.  It  was  also  the 
seat  of  Transylvania  University,  the  oldest  institution  of 
learning  in  the  West.  The  people  were  wealthy,  and  had 
that   kind    of   pride  with   which    new-gotten   riches   nearly 


84  Life  of  Archbishop  Spaldi7ig. 

always    infect    character ;    but,    above    all,    they   were    tho- 
roughly Protestant. 

Lexington  was  the  home  of  Clay,  who  was  Kentucky's 
hero  in  those  days,  when  a  Kentuckian  was  nothing  if  not 
political.  It  was  the  home,  too,  of  the  Breckinridges,  who, 
besides  being  politicians,  were  the  doughty  champions  of 
Protestantism.  There  were  few  Catholics  in  that  part  of 
the  State,  and  Dr.  Spalding's  missionary  field  extended 
over  eleven  counties,  through  which  he  travelled  in  every 
direction  in  search  of  the  lost  sheep  that  lay  hidden  in  the 
dense  forests,  which  the  feet  of  them  that  announce  the 
glad  tidings  had  then  but  seldom  trodden.  Many  who  had 
practically  abandoned  the  church,  having  strayed  beyond 
the  reach  of  its  influence,  were  brought  back  by  his  untir- 
ing labors,  and  induced  to  reconcile  themselves  with  God. 
Many,  too,  who  had  contracted  marriage  contrary  to  the 
laws  of  the  church,  were  induced  by  his  touching  appeals 
to  make  right  what  had  been  faulty  in  the  contract,  and 
thus  whole  families  were  saved  to  the  faith. 

An  incident  which  happened  whilst  Dr.  Spalding  was 
pastor  of  Lexington  is  worthy  of  record,  as  illustrating  the 
force  of  early  example,  especially  in  a  mother,  even  after 
years  of  sin  and  forgetfulness  of  duty  have  apparently 
erased  all  trace  of  impressions  made  during  the  innocence 
of  childhood.  A  stranger,  who  had  just  arrived  in  Lexing- 
ton, was  taken  quite  ill.  He  was  a  Catholic  in  name,  but 
for  years  had  done  nothing  which  would  prove  that  his  faith 
was  not  dead.  Dr.  Spalding,  hearing  of  his  sickness,  visited 
him,  and  was  soon  made  acquainted  with  the  sad  state  of 
his  soul.  He  sent  two  Sisters  of  Charity,  who  had  recently 
established  a  house  in  Lexington,  to  remain  with  him  and 
to  nurse  him.  No  kindness,  however,  made  any  impression 
on  him,  and  he  obstinately  lefused  to  be  reconciled  with  the 
church.      He  rapidly  grew  worse,  and  soon  saw  himself  that 


Pastor  of  St.  Peter  s  Church,   in  Lexington.     85 

he  had  not  much  longer  to  live  ;  but  still  he  could  not  be 
induced  to  think  of  preparing  himself  to  meet  God.  He 
left  messages  for  his  absent  friends,  and  gave  directions  as 
to  what  should  be  done  with  the  little  articles  which  he  had 
with  him.  Among  these  w^as  a  small  crucifix,  which  had 
belonged  to  his  mother,  and  which  his  veneration  for  her 
memory  had  caused  him  religiously  to  preserve.  This  he 
gave  to  one  of  the  Sisters,  with  the  request  that  she  Avould 
keep  it,  mentioning  the  fact  that  it  had  belonged  to  his 
mother.  This  incident  suggested  to  the  Sister  the  thought 
of  endeavoring  to  lead  his  mind  back  to  the  days  when  a 
pious  mother  watched  over  him,  and  when  the  faith  which 
he  had  been  taught  by  her  lips  gave  peace  and  happiness  to 
his  soul.  The  Sister's  words  were  not  spoken  in  vain.  The 
memory  of  his  mother  had  opened  his  heart  to  the  grace  of 
God,  and  he  at  once  asked  to  see  Dr.  Spalding,  from  whom 
he  received  the  sacraments  with  every  sign  of  the  most 
lively  faith  and  heartfelt  sorrow.  As  he  was  a  freemason, 
he  publicly  renounced  all  connection  with  the  society,  and 
asked  to  be  buried  with  the  rites  of  the  church. 

On  another  occasion,  a  destitute  clergyman,  who  had  just 
come  from  Ireland  to  the  diocese  of  Nashville,  and  who  was 
travelling  for  his  health,  was  taken  so  ill  in  Lexington  that 
he  was  unable  to  go  further.  Dr.  Spalding  had  but  one  bed 
in  the  little  room  which  he  occupied,  as  a  boarder,  in  a 
Catholic  family.  He  immediately  brought  the  sick  priest 
to  his  room,  gave  up  his  bed  to  him,  and  remained  with 
him  almost  constantly,  even  watching  by  his  side  through 
the  night,  for  several  weeks,  until  death  relieved  his  poor 
brother  of  his  sufferings. 

Dr.  Spalding  was  an  earnest  advocate  of  popular  missions 
as  a  means  of  arousing  the  slumbering  faith  and  devotion 
of  Catholics.  Whilst  a  student  in  the  Propaganda,  he  had 
sought,  in  an  especial  manner,  to  prepare  himself  to  preach 


86  Life  of  Ai'cJibishop  Spalding. 

retreats,  after  the  plan  of  St.  Ignatius.  Shortly  after  he  was 
sent  to  Lexington,  he  caused  a  mission  to  be  given  to  his 
congregation  there,  which  was  productive  of  the  most 
salutary  effects.  During  the  fall  and  winter  of  1840,  he 
delivered  a  course  of  fifteen  lectures  on  ecclesiastical  his- 
tory, in  the  Catholic  church  in  Lexington.  These  lectures 
were  delivered  from  notes  containing  an  abstract  of  the 
views  which  he  proposed  to  develop.  In  his  first  discourse 
he  sought  to  establish  the  supernatural  character  of  the 
Christian  religion,  by  showing  from  the  history  of  its  strug- 
gles and  triumphs  during  the  first  three  centuries  that  a 
divine  Power  must  have  presided  over  its  birth  and  early 
existence.  In  his  second  lecture,  he  took  up  the  history  of 
the  New  Testament  writings,  and  showed  that,  in  the  age 
of  the  foundation  of  the  church,  the  principle  of  authority 
liad  been  accepted  and  acted  upon  by  the  apostles  and 
disciples  of  Christ.  He  then,  in  succession,  treated  of  the 
form  of  government  in  the  Primitive  Church  ;  of  the  councils 
of  the  first  three  centuries,  and  the  heresies  which  they  had 
condemned  ;  of  the  overthrow  of  the  Roman  Empire  by  the 
Northmen,  and  of  their  conversion  to  Christianity;  of  Mo- 
hammedanism ;  of  the  Crusades  ;  of  chivalry  and  the  mili- 
tary orders ;  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition ;  and  concluded 
with  a  discourse  on  the  rise  and  progress  of  civil  liberty  in 
Europe. 

These  lectures  were  well  received  by  all  classes  of  persons 
in  Lexington,  which,  in  that  day,  with  true  provincial  con- 
ceit, called  itself  the  Athens  of  the  West.  During  this 
year.  Dr.  Spalding  received  into  the  church  about  thirty 
converts.  His  interest  in  this  class  of  Catholics  was  always 
very  great.  A  physician  of  some  prominence,  who  lived  in 
Georgetown,  Ky.,  and  who  had  been  received  into  the  church 
some  years  before,  apostatized  whilst  Dr.  Spalding  was  pas- 
tor of  the  church  in  Lexington,  and  sent  him  a  long  letter 


Pastor  of  St.  Peters  Church,  in  Lexington,     87 

in  defence  of  the  step  which  he  had  taken.     To  this  com- 
munication Dr.  Spalding  made  the  following  reply: 

"Dear  Sir: 

"  I  received  your  letter  a  few  days  ago,  but  my  duties 
have  not,  until  now,  permitted  me  to  acknowledge  the  favor. 
When  I  first  heard  the  sad  intelligence  of  your  having  aban- 
doned the  church  of  all  ages  and  nations,  to  a  knowledge  of 
and  belief  in  which  you  had  been  called  by  a  signal  provi- 
dence of  God,  I  could  scarcely  believe  it.  My  surprise  was 
the  greater  from  the  fact  that  when  I  saw  you  a  few  days 
before,  I  had  no  intimation  of  any  such  intention  ;  on  the 
■contrary,  the  impression  remaining  upon  my  mind  from  the 
conversation  I  had  with  you  was  that  you  were  still  a  firm 
believer  in  the  tenets  of  the  Catholic  Church.  When  the 
news  of  your  defection  was  confirmed  in  such  way  that  I 
could  no  longer  but  credit  it,  I  must  say  that  I  was  pained 
and  grieved  to  the  very  heart.  My  dear  friend,  I  cannot 
give  expression  in  this  short  letter  to  all  that  I  feel ;  but  I 
hope  soon  to  see  you,  when  we  will  speak  more  fully,  and  I 
am  sure  in  the  spirit  of  Christian  charity,  of  this  whole 
matter.  God  alone,  of  course,  knows  your  heart,  as  he  alone 
will  judge  you.  In  a  few  years  we  shall  both  be  arraigned 
before  his  dread  tribunal  to  receive  from  his  infallible  lips 
our  doom  for  eternity.  On  that  awful  day,  I  hope  that 
nothing  will  be  laid  to  my  charge,  at  least  on  the  score  of 
negligence  ;  and  that  I  may  comply  with  my  duty  in  this 
matter,  you  will  pardon  me  for  proposing  in  all  humility  of 
heart  to  your  consideration  the  following  points  :  One  article 
of  the  Apostles'  Creed  which  you  profess  still  to  hold  is  this  : 
I  believe  in  the  Holy  Catholic  Church.  Now,  can  you  sup- 
pose for  a  moment  that  a  sect  which  sprang  up  but  yes- 
terday, and  is  confined  to  one  corner  of  the  globe,  is  or  can 
be  the  Catholic  or  universal  church  ? 


88  Life  of  Archbishop  Spaldijig. 

"  It  has  universality  neither  of  time  nor  place.  It  is 
eighteen  hundred  years  too  young  to  be  the  church  which 
Christ  founded  and  the  apostles  built  up.  You  will  admit 
that  Christ  established  but  one  church,  which  he  commanded 
all  to  hear  under  penalty  of  being  considered  heathens  and 
publicans  ;  that  he  so  secured  this  church,  which  he  built 
upon  a  rock,  by  his  infallible  promises,  that  the  gates  of  hell 
can  never  prevail  against  it ;  that  he  sent  his  Holy  Spirit  to 
teach  it  all  truth  and  to  remain  with  it  for  ever,  he  himself 
at  the  same  time  abiding  with  it  all  days,  even  to  the  end 
of  the  world.  Is  it  possible,  in  the  light  of  these  truths,  to 
believe  that  the  whole  Christian  world  has  been  in  error 
until  the  present  century?  You  must  admit  that  salvation 
is  attainable  in  the  old  church  ;  what  assurance  have  you 
that  it  is  possible  in  any  other?  The  Bible,  from  which 
Protestants  profess  to  draw  their  whole  religion,  can  be 
proved  to  be  the  word  of  God  not  otherwise  than  by  the  testi- 
mony and  authority  of  the  Catholic  Church,  from  which  they 
received  it.  If  the  church  is  to  be  heard  as  to  the  founda- 
tion, why  not  also  as  to  the  details  of  faith  ?  My  dear  friend,, 
I  beg  you  to  weigh  seriously  before  God  these  and  other 
considerations  which  will  suggest  themselves  to  you.  You 
will,  I  doubt  not,  appreciate  my  motive  in  thus  addressing, 
you  :  it  is  not  with  a  view  of  giving  you  pain,  or  engaging 
in  useless  controversy,  but  solely  with  the  hope  of  causing 
you  to  reflect  more  seriously  upon  the  course  which  you 
have,  I  fear,  too  hastily  taken." 

Unfortunately  for  the  progress  of  the  church  in  this  part 
of  Kentucky,  changes  took  place  in  the  diocese  which  ren- 
dered it  necessary  to  recall  Dr.  Spalding  to  Bardstown,  after 
he  had  been  in  Lexington  but  fifteen  months. 

For  some  years  Bishop  Flaget  had  entertained  the  idea 
of  transferring  his  episcopal  see  to  Louisville.     He  had  con- 


Diocese  of  Nashville.  89 

ferred  with  the  Holy  Father  on  this  subject  while  in  Rome 
in  1S36.  Bardstown,  the  cradle  of  religion  in  the  diocese, 
and  for  a  long  time  the  centre  of  the  Catholic  population  of 
the  State,  was,  at  the  time  of  his  appointment,  the  fittest 
point  for  the  location  of  the  see.  A  quarter  of  a  century, 
however,  had  wrought  a  great  change.  Louisville,  which 
when  he  first  came  to  Kentucky  was  an  unimportant  place 
with  a  small  floating  population  of  nominal  Catholics,  had 
now  become  the  largest  city  in  the  State ;  and  the  Catholics 
had  grown  in  proportion,  both  in  numbers  and  religious 
earnestness.  Everything  indicated  that  it  was  destined  to 
be  the  great  commercial  emporium  of  Kentucky,  and  con- 
sequently the  centre  of  its  Catholic  population.  Hence, 
however  much  Bishop  Flaget  regretted  to  leave  Bardstown, 
which  had  been  his  home  for  so  many  years,  and  where 
he  had  founded  such  splendid  institutions,  he  yet  felt  that 
the  good  of  religion  demanded  the  sacrifice.  The  Pontifical 
Rescript  authorizing  the  translation  of  the  see  to  Louisville 
was  received  early  in  1841,  and  the  Bishop  removed  thither 
with  his  coadjutor  towards  the  close  of  that  year.  Father 
Reynolds,  his  vicar-general,  who  had  been  pastor  of  the 
cathedral  in  Bardstown  since  Dr.  Spalding's  appointment  to 
Lexington,  had  preceded  him  some  months  in  order  to  pre- 
pare the  way.  The  people  of  Bardstown  naturally  felt 
aggrieved  by  the  removal  of  the  see  ;  and  the  Bishop,  in 
order  at  least  in  some  measure  to  compensate  them  for  the 
loss,  recalled  Dr.  Spalding,  and  placed  him  again  in  charge 
of  the  old  cathedral.  It  was  about  this  time  that  Dr. 
Spalding  seriously  entertained  the  thought  of  devoting  his 
life  to  the  missions  in  the  poor  and  newly-organized  diocese 
of  Nashville,  Tennessee.  When  Bishop  Miles  was  appointed 
to  that  see,  in  1838,  there  was  not  a  priest  in  the  diocese. 

Zealous    missionaries    from    Kentucky   had    occasionally 
visited  the  scattered  Catholics  of  Tennessee,  who  were  in^ 


^  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

the  greatest  spiritual  destitution.  Dr.  Spalding  himself  had 
gone  on  this  mission  of  charity  through  various  parts  of  the 
State.  I  have  heard  him  relate  how  in  these  journeyings 
he  once  stopped  at  a  farm-house,  and  to  his  great  surprise 
found  that  the  family  were  Catholics,  still  strong  in  the  faith, 
though  they  had  not  seen  a  priest  for  many  years.  He  re- 
mained with  them  for  several  days  ;  instructed  and  baptized 
the  children,  and  administered  the  sacraments  to  all  who 
were  old  enough  to  receive  them.  Thus,  from  his  own  per- 
sonal observation,  he  had  been  made  acquainted  with  the 
■great  need  of  priests  in  Tennessee.  In  a  letter  which  he 
wrote,  in  the  name  of  Bishop  Miles,  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Vienna,  to  thank  him  for  a  gift  which,  through  him,  had 
been  obtained  for  the  diocese  of  Nashville  from  the  Leopold 
.Society,  he  said  :  "  The  Bishop  has  neither  priest  nor  deacon, 
neither  house  nor  money,  so  that  to  him  may  be  applied  in 
all  truth  what  was  said  of  the  Saviour  of  men — '  he  has  not 
where  to  lay  his  head.'  " 

Bishop  Miles  was  more  than  anxious  that  Dr.  Spalding 
■should  devote  himself  to  the  missions  of  Tennessee.  He 
represented  to  him  the  immense  good  to  be  accomplished, 
there,  especially  by  priests  who  were  able  to  preach  in  an 
attractive  and  forcible  manner.  Everywhere  throughout 
the  State  the  people  manifested  an  earnest  desire  to  be 
informed  concerning  the  teachings  of  the  church.  Wher- 
•ever  the  visit  of  a  priest  was  announced,  it  at  once  became 
the  absorbing  topic  of  conversation,  and  when  he  arrived 
churches  and  court-houses  were  thrown  open  to  him,  and 
•crowds  flocked  to  hear  him.  The  novelty  which  everything 
-Catholic  possessed  for  these  people  had  doubtless  not  a  little 
to  do  with  their  eagerness  to  see  and  hear  the  priest.  Their 
minds,  however,  were  not  obstinately  shut  against  the  light 
■of  truth  ;  and  we  cannot  but  think  that  a  rare  opportunity 
for  doing  great  things  for  the  church  existed  at  that  day  in 


Diocese  of  Nashville.  9 1 

Tennessee,  could  priests  have  been  found  to  do  the  work. 
Such,  at  least,  was  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Spalding,  and  he 
willingly  consented  to  turn  his  energies  in  this  direction. 
Having  informed  Bishop  Miles  of  his  desire  to  enter  his 
diocese,  he  received  from  him  the  following  letter,  dated 
February  29,  1840: 

■"  Reverend  and  Dear  Friend  : 

"  Your  very  kind  and  much  esteemed  favor  has  been 
received,  and  has  afforded  me  great  consolation.  The  very 
thought  that  you  will,  probably  before  a  great  while,  be 
among  the  clergy  of  my  poor  and  heretofore  cruelly  neg- 
lected diocese,  gives  me  a  pleasure  which  I  cannot  express. 
As  I  expect  soon  to  see  you,  I  shall  not  now  enter  into  par- 
ticulars, but  desire  you  to  recommend  the  matter  earnestly 
to  Almighty  God.  The  time  of  the  council  is  approaching, 
and  if  you  will  be  kind  enough  to  accompany  me  as  theo- 
logian, you  will  not  only  add  another  to  the  many  favors 
which  I  have  already  received  at  your  hands,  but  }^ou  will 
have  a  better  opportunity  of  consulting  with  the  assembled 
prelates  on  the  propriety  of  joining  the  mission  of  Tennessee. 
.  The  young  man  whom  you  sent  me  has  arrived. 
-He  seems  to  be  well  disposed,  and  will,  I  hope,  prove  useful. 
Another  has  just  reached  here  from  Georgia,  and  our  semi- 
nary has  commenced  with  this  small  beginning.  God  will 
yet  bless  our  efforts." 

Dr.  Spalding  wrote  to  the  Cardinal-Prefect  of  the  Propa- 
ganda, setting  forth  his  reasons  for  wishing  to  go  to  Nash- 
ville. He  also  consulted  Bishop  Kenrick  on  the  subjects 
from  whom  he  received  the  following  reply : 

"  I  am  pleased  with  the  favorable  state  of  things  in  the 
West,  and  wish  an  increase  of  that  kind  feeling  which  is 
mutually  cherished.  Your  interest  in  Nashville  is  praise- 
worthy.     However,  I  should   deem   it  inadvisable  to  move 


92  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

without  the  approbation  of  the  Propaganda,  especially  after 
having  consulted  the  Prefect.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that 
your  removal  thither,  with  the  consent  of  Bishop  Flaget, 
would  not  be  any  violation  of  your  duty  ;  but  it  is  better 
to  have  the  actual  approval  of  the  Cardinal." 

What  the  answer  of  the  Propaganda  was  I  do  not  know; 
but  since  Dr.  Spalding  did  not  leave  the  diocese  of  Louis- 
ville, it  may  be  conjectured  that  it  was  unfavorable.  He,, 
however,  remained  the  lifelong  friend  of  Bishop  Miles,  and 
did  everything  in  his  power  to  encourage  and  assist  him  in 
his  arduous  mission.  In  the  winter  of  1843,  ^^^  delivered  a 
course  of  lectures  in  Nashville  to  crowded  and  delighted 
audiences,  numbers  being  unable  to  find  accommodation  in 
the  church.  Not  only  the  Catholics,  but  also  many  of  the 
most  respectable  Protestants  of  the  city,  came  to  hear  him. 
Such  was  the  impression  produced  by  his  discourses  that  he 
was  waited  on  by  the  literary  societies  of  the  city,  and 
invited  to  lecture  before  them.  Glad  of  any  opportunity  to 
announce  the  truth  and  dispel  error,  he  accepted  the  invi- 
tation, and  a  correspondent,  writing  from  Nashville  to  the 
CatJiglic  Advocate^  says  that  such  audiences  as  attended' 
these  lectures  had  never  before  been  seen  in  that  city.  In 
the  fall  of  1847,  he  preached  the  sermon  at  the  dedication 
of  the  Cathedral  of  Nashville,  and  delivered  there  a  second 
course  of  lectures. 

In  a  letter  to  the  daughter  of  John  J.  Crittenden,  Arch- 
bishop Spalding  relates  an  incident  of  his  first  visit  to  Nash- 
ville, in  1840,  which  portrays  the  intense  political  excite- 
ment of  that  time,  as  well  as  the  enthusiastic  fondness  for 
popular  eloquence  which  existed  among  the  people  of  the 
Southwest.  No  Athenian  or  Roman  audience  ever  yielded 
themselves  to  the  charms  of  eloquence  with  more  passionate 
love  than  the  people  of  Kentucky,  in  the  dcT^  of  Clay,  and 
Marshall,  and  Crittenden. 


Diocese  of  Nashville.  93 

"Baltimore,  December  26,  1870. 
•"  My  Dear  Mrs.  Coleman  : 

"As  I  am  not  a  civilian,  but  a  clergyman,  I  feel  some 
reluctance  in  complying  with  your  request  to  write  out  the 
substance  of  what  I  related  at  the  elegant  breakfast  of  oui 
mutual  friend,  Dr.  Samuel  D.  Gross,  in  Philadelphia,  on  the 
9th  of  August,  in  regard  to  your  venerable  father,  John  J. 
•Crittenden.  I  recalled  that  reminiscence  as  a  Kentuckian 
whose  State  pride  was  all  aglow,  when  remembering  an 
incident  among  the  popular  forensic  efforts  of  one  of  Ken- 
tucky's most  eloquent  sons.  The  facts,  briefly  referred  to 
on  that  occasion,  are,  in  substance,  as  follows : 

"  Finding  myself  accidentally  in  Nashville  in  August, 
1840,  whither  I  had  gone  for  purposes  of  recreation,  I  was 
induced  by  my  friends  to  attend  the  great  Southwestern 
Whig  Convention.  Mr.  Crittenden  was  to  be  the  chief 
orator  of  the  day,  Mr.  Clay  having  spoken  the  day  before. 
I  went,  not  as  a  politician,  for  I  took  no  interest  in  politics, 
but  as  a  Kentuckian,  anxious  to  hear  a  brother  Kentuckian 
speak,  and  I  was  well  repaid.  Though  thirty  years  have 
elapsed,  I  have  not  forgotten  the  deep  impression  made 
upon  my  mind  by  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  impas- 
sioned bursts  of  oratory  it  has  ever  been  my  privilege  to 
listen  to,  either  in  Europe  or  America.  The  whole  scene  is 
before  me  now,  fresh  and  vivid  as  on  that  morning  when  I 
stood  enraptured  by  your  father's  eloquence.  I  still  hear 
his  silvery  voice;  I  still  hear  the  acclamations  of  thirty 
thousand  people,  whose  very  souls  he  commanded  and  bore 
along  with  him  throughout  his  masterly  oration.  Mr.  Crit- 
tenden had  taken  a  low  stand  on  the  platform,  and  I  still 
hear  the  cry:  '  Higher,  higher,  Mr.  Crittenden  !  Go  up;  we 
wish  to  see  your  whole  stature  !'  And  as  he  went  higher 
upon  the  stand,  so  he  rose  higher  and  higher  in  eloquence. 
He  took  up  every  cry  of  that  vast  audience  (as,  when  he 


94  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

was  about  to  close,  they  threw  to  him  first  one  and  ther* 
another  of  the  great  poHtical  questions  of  the  day)  and  rang; 
the  changes  upon  it,  becoming  more  and  more  grand  in  elo- 
quence at  every  step  of  his  physical  and  moral  elevation,, 
showing  that  he  and  his  audience  were  one.  I  particularly 
remember  his  comparing  the  outcry  of  the  people  for  a  poli- 
tical change  to  an  avalanche  rushing  down  from  the  summit 
of  the  Alleghanies  to  the  East  and  to  the  West,  and  bearing 
all  before  it.  This  brilliant  figure  was  carried  out,  till  the- 
immense  multitude  made  the  welkin  ring  with  their  ap- 
plauding shouts.  Seldom  have  I  witnessed  such  a  success, 
I  well  remember,  also,  the  acclamations  with  which  Mr. 
Clay  and  himself  were  greeted  by  the  multitude  on  their 
departure  from  Nashville.  Mr.  Clay  spoke  first,  from  the- 
guard  of  the  steamer,  with  his  usual  grace  and  eloquence  ;. 
then  the  cry  was,  '  Crittenden,  Crittenden  !'  Your  father- 
stepped  forward,  and,  in  his  most  happy  manner,  he  said 
(smiling  and  bowing  to  Mr.  Clay)  :  '  I  suppose  this  flattering 
greeting  is  chiefly  owing  to  the  good  company  in  which  I 
have  the  privilege  to  be  found  !'  '  Not  at  all  !'  shouted  the 
multitude,  'not  at  all;  it  is  for  yourself!  Come  again; 
come  alone  next  time,  and  we  will  prove  it  to  you  !'  This,, 
my  dear  Mrs.  Coleman,  is  the  substance  of  what  I  related  at 
Dr.  Gross's  of  the  great  Southwestern  Convention.* 
"  Faithfully  yours, 

"  M.  J.  Spalding, 

"  Archbishop  of  Baltimore." 

•  Life  of  y.  y.  Crittenden,  by  his  daughter,  Mrs.  C.  Coleman,  page  129.. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

DR.  SPALDING  IS  APPOINTED  VICAR-GENERAL— THE  LOUIS- 
VILLE "  LEAGUE  "  —  HIS  LABORS  AS  A  LECTURER  AND 
PREACHER. 

HEN  Bishop  Flaget  determined  to  remove  the 
see  of  the  diocese  to  Louisville,  he  recalled  Dr. 
Spalding,  as  I  have  already  stated,  from  Lex- 
ington, and  replaced  him  in  charge  of  the  old 
cathedral  at  Bardstown,  where  he  remained  for  three  years, 
doing  the  work  of  a  parish  priest,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
writing  for  Catholic  reviews  and  journals. 

The  appointment  of  Father  Reynolds  to  the  see  of 
Charleston,  in  i8zH>  left  the  post  of  Vicar-General  in  the 
diocese  of  Louisville  vacant,  and  Dr.  Spalding  was  called 
to  fill  this  responsible  office.  Bishop  Flaget  was  over  eighty 
years  of  age,  and  quite  feeble.  The  health  of  his  second 
coadjutor.  Dr.  Chabrat,  had  not  been  good  for  some  time,, 
and  he  was  now  threatened  with  loss  of  sight.  He  had 
gone  to  Europe  to  seek  medical  advice,  but  had  received 
little  encouragement  to  hope  that  he  would  find  relief  from 
the  malady  from  which  he  was  suffering. 

Having  no  reason  to  believe  that  he  should  ever  again  be 
able  to  perform  the  duties  of  his  office,  he  wrote  to  Rome^ 
offering  his.  resignation.  The  Holy  Father  referred  the 
matter  to  the  approaching  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore, 
which  was  to  meet  in  1846.  The  Fathers  of  the  Council 
declined  to  advise  the  acceptance  of  Bishop  Chabrat's  resig- 
nation. In  the  meantime,  his  disease  grew  no  better,  and 
he  resolved  again  to  visit  Europe. 


96  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding » 

On  his  arrival  in  Paris,  the  oculist  whom  he  had  pre- 
viously consulted  declared  that  unless  he  resigned  his 
charge  and  remained  in  France,  he  would  in  a  short  time 
■become  hopelessly  blind.  The  Papal  Nuncio  in  Paris,  to 
whom  the  case  had  been  stated,  wrote  to  the  Holy  See, 
recommending  the  acceptance  of  Bishop  Chabrat's  resigna- 
tion, and  he  was  shortly  after  relieved  from  his  office  as 
•Coadjutor  of  the  Bishop  of  Louisville. 

The  great  age  of  Bishop  Flaget,  and  the  infirmity  of 
Bishop  Chabrat,  threw  nearly  the  whole  administration  of 
-the  affairs  of  the  diocese  upon  Dr.  Spalding  from  the  very 
-time  of  his  appointment  as  Vicar-General. 

The  cathedral  in  Louisville  had  already  become  a  point 
of  great  attraction,  not  only  to  Catholics,  but  also  to  a  large 
and  intelligent  class  of  Protestants.  Its  choir  was  the 
best  in  the  city,  and  its  pulpit  had  acquired  a  name  for 
.eloquence  of  a  high  order.  It  had  been  filled  by  the  Rev. 
I.  A.  Reynolds,  late  Bishop  of  Charleston  ;  the  Rev.  John 
McGill,  late  Bishop  of  Richmond,  and  the  Rev.  Father 
;Larkin,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  all  of  whom  were  men  not 
•only  of  solid  attainments,  but  also  of  real  eloquence. 
Father  McGill  was  still  pastor  of  the  cathedral,  and  he 
.and  Dr.  Spalding  began  a  course  of  Sunday-evening 
lectures,  each  occupying  the  pulpit  in  turn.  The  suc- 
cess with  which  lectures  of  this  kind  had  been  attended 
in  Lexington,  encouraged  the  hope  that  they  would  here 
.also  be  productive  of  good  results.  The  subjects  chosen 
•were  ecclesiastical  history  and  the  dogmatic  teachings  of 
the  church.  On  the  first  night,  the  cathedral  was  filled  to 
overflowing,  and  the  interest  seemed  to  increase  with  each 
Sunday  evening's  lecture.  Many  Protestants  went  to  the 
cathedral,  and  the  attendance  at  the  ministrations  of  the 
preachers  was,  in  consequence,  small.  These  reverend  gen- 
tlemen   took   alarm,  and  called   a  meeting  to  devise  some 


The  Louisville  ^'League."  97 

plan  for  counteracting  the  effect  which  the  discourses  in  the 
cathedral  were  producing. 

The  result  of  their  deliberations  was  the  organization  of 
the  Louisville  Protestant  League.  The  members  of  the 
League  were  the  Rev.  W.  L.  Breckinridge,  a  brother  of  the 
Rev.  John  Breckinridge,  the  opponent  of  Archbishop 
Hughes,  the  Rev.  E.  P.  Humphrey,  and  the  Rev.  W.  W. 
Hill,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  ;  the  Baptists  were  repre- 
sented by  the  Rev.  A.  D.  Sears  and  the  Rev.  Thomas  S. 
Malcolm  ;  whilst  the  Methodist  champions  were  the  Rev.  G. 
W.  Brush  and  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Cavanagh. 

Each  member  of  the  League  bound  himself  to  lecture  in 
turn  on  the  abominations  of  Popery.  With  the  exception 
of  Dr.  Breckinridge,  they  interchanged  pulpits.  As  he  had 
a  fine  church  and  a  rich  congregation,  he  preferred  to  hurl 
his  bolts  at  Antichrist  and  the  Woman  of  Sin  from  his  own 
Olympus.  One  of  his  lectures  was  delivered  before  an  au- 
dience composed  exclusively  of  men.  The  subject  was,  of 
course,  the  confessional. 

As  the  exponent  of  the  dogmas  of  the  church,  it  fell 
chiefly  to  the  lot  of  Father  McGill  to  repel  the  assaults  of 
the  League.  His  logical  mind  and  skill  in  argument  would 
have  rendered  him  a  formidable  adversary  in  any  cause.  He 
was  thoroughly  conversant  with  polemical  theology,  and  he 
took  great  pains  to  inform  himself  minutely  of  the  objections 
advanced  by  the  League  preachers.  They  were  marked 
by  the  ignorance  and  blundering  which  seem  to  be  in- 
evitable whenever  Protestants  undertake  to  attack  the 
church.  He  therefore  found  no  difficulty  in  exposing  their 
misstatements  and  confounding  their  sophistry.  Father 
McGill  was  also  a  master  of  satire,  which  he  used  with 
great  effect  in  this  controversy.  The  crowds  that  flocked  to 
the  cathedral  were,  if  possible,  greater  now  than  before.  Men 
and  women,  unable  to  get   seats,  stood   in  the  aisles  of  the 


98  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

church,  densely  packed,  up  to  the  very  railings  of  the  sanc- 
tuary. Hundreds  of  Protestants,  who,  in  other  circumstances,. 
could  not  have  been  induced  to  enter  a  Catholic  churchy 
came  to  hear  the  persuasive  eloquence  and  forcible  argu- 
ments of  Father  McGill  and  Dr.  Spalding,  and  thus  many 
prejudices  were  overcome  and  the  seeds  of  future  conver- 
sions were  sown.* 

Another  and  much  greater  good  effected  by  these  lectures 
was  that  they  aroused  the  spirit  of  the  Catholic  body,  and 
caused  them  to  feel  a  pride  in  their  faith,  of  which  they  had 
not  hitherto  been  conscious,  and  thus  they  became  more 
earnest,  more  ready  to  organize  and  co-operate  with  their 
zealous  pastors  in  building  up  the  church,  and  helping  on 
the  cause  of  truth  and  religion. 

Dr.  Spalding's  official  duties,  now  that  he  was  stationed 
at  the  cathedral  in  Louisville  as  Vicar-General  of  the 
diocese,  were  more  onerous  than  they  had  hitherto  ever 
been.  He  nevertheless  found  time  to  devote  to  other 
works  in  the  interest  of  religion  than  those  to  which  his 
position  properly  obliged  him. 

He  developed  greater  activity,  both  as  a  lecturer  and 
writer  on  Catholic  subjects,  than  he  had  up  to  this  time 
manifested.  He  continued  to  write  for  the  Advocate,  and 
also  prepared  monthly  one  or  more  essays  for  some  Catholic 
magazine.  During  the  winters  of  1844-45,  1846-47,  1847- 
48,  he  delivered  courses  of  lectures  in  the  cathedral  of 
Louisville  on  general  and  special  theology,  and  on  Catholic 
worship.  He  wrote  in  full  only  the  first  series  of  these 
lectures,  which  he  published  under  the  title  of  Evidences 
of  Catholicity.  His  experience  had  led  him  to  think  that 
Sunday-evening  lectures,  in  which  the  plain  and  forcible 
statement  and  proof  of  Catholic  doctrines  are  made,  without 

*  I  am  indebted  to  the  Hon.  B.  J.  Webb,  of  Louisville  for  this  account 
of  the  "  League." 


His  Labors  as  a  Lecturer  and  Preacher.       99 

seeking  controversy  or  assuming  an  aggressive  attitude 
toward  the  sects,  are  generally  attended  with  the  happiest 
results  to  the  cause  of  Catholic  truth,  especially  in  our  large 
cities.  Republican  institutions  develop  a  fondness  for 
public  speaking,  and,  in  virtue  of  the  law  of  supply  and 
demand,  they  create  orators.  Although  the  art  of  printing 
and  journalism,  and  the  consequent  more  general  education 
of  the  masses,  have  opened  to  those  who  desire  to  inform 
themselves  upon  the  various  questions,  whether  of  great  or 
small  moment,  which  the  current  of  events  presents  to  the 
attention  or  curiosity  of  men,  other  and  easier  channels  of 
know  ledge,  and  have  thus  taken  from  oratory  somewhat  of 
the  charm  and  influence  which  belonged  to  it  in  Greece  and 
Rome,  they  have,  however,  by  no  means  deprived  it  of  its 
great  power  over  the  mind  and  heart.  Orators  no  longer 
control  public  opinion,  but  they  still  have  something  to  do 
with  forming  it  on  many  of  the  most  important  matters 
which  come  up  for  discussion. 

In  the  religion  of  Christ,  eloquence  has  a  special  and 
divine  mission.  He  blessed  it  and  bade  it  convert  the 
world  when  he  commanded  the  apostles  to  go  and  teach 
all  nations.  This  high  office  he  entrusted  not  to  the  writ- 
ten, but  to  the  spoken  word  ;  and,  though  from  him  alone 
comes  conversion,  yet,  in  this  as  in  other  things,  he  works 
through  human  agencies,  which  become  the  occasions  of 
grace.  Other  things,  too,  give  to  the  priest  special  privi- 
leges here.  The  old  conception  of  the  orator,  which  defines 
him  to  be  a  good  man  skilled  in  the  art  of  speaking,  should 
be,  one  would  think,  more  easily  and  fully  realized  in  him 
than  in  other  men.  He  is  not,  as  De  Maistre  has  said  of 
the  ministers  of  Protestantism,  merely  a  respectable  man 
clothed  in  black,  but  all  the  circumstances  of  his  life  tend 
to  render  him  sacred,  even  in  the  eyes  of  the  unbelieving. 
Separated  from  the  world  from  early  youth,  devoted  to  a 


lOO  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

life  of  study  and  prayer,  without  wife  or  children  or  secular 
entanglement,  the  very  sacrifices  which  his  vocation  im- 
poses upon  him  witness  to  the  sacredness  of  his  character, 
tiie  elevation  of  his  thoughts,  and  the  power  over  the  hearts 
of  men  of  the  truth  which  he  preaches.  That  seriousness 
and  earnestness  which  are  so  essential  to  the  orator  are 
implied  in  the  very  idea  of  the  priesthood.  To  these  must 
be  added  the  supernatural  strength  of  conviction  which 
Catholic  faith  alone  gives.  Who  does  not  perceive  here 
the  immense  advantages  which  the  Catholic  has  over  the 
Protestant  speaker?  To  be  a  Protestant  is  to  hold  opi- 
nions ;  to  be  a  Catholic  is  to  have  convictions.  The  waver- 
ing, uncertain,  and  changing  nature  of  Protestantism  takes 
from  the  ministers  of  that  religion  that  perfect  and  un- 
doubting  faith  in  the  doctrines  which  they  preach  which  is 
so  essential  to  true  eloquence.  This  defect  in  the  preacher 
is  increased  by  the  attitude  of  those  to  whom  he  speaks, 
who  regard  him  not  as  a  divinely  ordained  minister,  but 
merely  as  the  more  or  less  plausible  advocate  of  his  own 
religious  theories.  And  yet  preaching  is  the  central  act  in 
Protestant  worship,  without  which  it  would  have  no  attrac- 
tiveness and  no  life.  The  true  Protestant  idea  of  a  church 
is  that  of  a  lecture-hall ;  and  the  introduction  of  Catholic 
architecture  into  Protestant  houses  of  worship  is  an  act  of 
unfaithfulness  to  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Refor- 
mation. This  is  evident  from  the  fact  that,  where  Protes- 
tants imitate  the  church  in  the  architectural  structure  of 
their  religious  edifices,  the  natural  logic  of  the  human  mind 
inclines  them  to  supply  what  such  a  style  of  architecture 
implies— as  the  altar,  the  priest,  the  sacerdotal  robes,  and 
the  ceremonial  which  these  suppose.  But,  to  return,  since 
Protestantism  has  no  sacrifice,  no  real  presence  of  Christ, 
preaching  becomes  the  most  important  feature  in  its  pub- 
lic worship.     And,  since    the    preacher  is   regarded  chiefly 


His  Labors  as  a  Lecturer  and  Preacher.      loi 

or  solely  from  a  human  stand-point,  it  is  essential  that  he 
should  preach  well.  Eloquence  commands  the  highest 
price  in  Protestant  churches.  The  barometer  of  a  congre- 
gation is  its  pulpit.  It  rises  or  falls  with  the  preacher. 
The  law  of  supply  and  demand  comes  into  play  here,  and, 
since  in  the  great  centres  of  commerce  and  population  the 
highest  price  is  paid  for  pulpit  oratory,  thithei^  the  best 
ability  in  the  Protestant  ministry  gravitates.  Hence,  in  the 
large  cities  of  the  United  States  the  pulpits  of  the  more 
wealthy  churches  are  filled,  if  not  always  by  orators,  at 
least  by  good  speakers.  Now,  there  are  vast  numbers  of 
people  in  this  country  who,  on  Sunday  evening,  are  as  will- 
ing to  go  to  hear  a  Catholic  as  a  Protestant  sermon,  pro- 
vided they  have  a  reasonable  hope  of  hearing  what  they 
call  a  good  sermon.  Firmly  persuaded  that  we  have  the 
truth,  and  earnestly  desiring  that  all  men  should  be  brought 
to  the  knowledge  of  it,  it  is  not  a  little  gain  to  find  men 
willing  to  listen  to  us  in  defence  of  our  faith.  Even  should 
we  not  convert  them,  we  can  at  least  show  them  that  on 
earth  there  is  nothing  grander,  more  venerable,  more  worthy 
of  love  than  the  church  on  whose  brow  "time  writes  no 
wrinkle."  Impressions  will  be  made,  prejudices  dissipated, 
and  thoughts  suggested  which  will  gradually,  aided  by 
God's  grace,  work  their  way  into  the  heart  and  produce 
conviction.  The  preacher  himself  may  never  know  it, 
'■'•alius  est  qui  plantat  et  alius  qui  metit,''  but  the  work  is 
done.  To  the  Catholic  orator  the  world  has  never  pre- 
sented a  finer  field  than  that  which  lies  before  him  in  this 
country  to-day,  and  if  we  intend  to  do  the  work  that  God 
demands  of  us,  we  must  prepare  ourselves  with  greater  care 
for  this  mission.  The  importance  of  thorough  training  in 
the  art  of  public  speaking  to  those  who  aspire  to  the  priest- 
hood cannot  be  exaggerated.  Although  much  has  been 
done  in   this   direction — more,   possibly,   than    might    have 


I  o  2  Life  of  A  rch  b  is  hop  Spa  Iding 

been  expected,  in  view  of  the  difificulties  with  which  oui 
priests  have  had  to  contend — still  much  remains  yet  to  be 
done.  Hitherto,  our  seminaries,  and  to  a  great  extent  our 
colleges,  have  been  in  the  hands  of  men  to  whom  English 
was  a  foreign  language — admirable  men,  from  the  priceless 
value  of  whose  labors  I  certainly  do  not  wish  to  detract 
aught,  but  from  whom  it  would  have  been  unreasonable  to 
expect  that  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  language  and 
habits  of  thought  and  expression  of  our  people  absolutely 
required  in  those  who  would  successfully  train  the  young 
men  destined  for  the  ministry  in  this  country  in  the  art  of 
public  speaking.  In  the  future,  greater  attention  will  be 
paid  to  this  important  branch  of  ecclesiastical  education. 
Chairs  of  sacred  eloquence  will  be  founded  in  our  semina- 
ries, and  special  teachers  in  reading  and  elocution  will  be 
employed,  and  thus  the  influence  of  the  Catholic  pulpit 
over  the  religious  thought  of  the  country  will  become  far 
greater  than  it  has  hitherto  ever  been. 

Whether  or  not  these  reflections  have  any  value,  the  better 
judgment  of  my  readers  will  decide.  They  have  been  sug- 
gested by  the  example  of  the  subject  of  this  biography.  He 
certainly  felt  that  the  priest,  as  the  preacher  of  God's  truth, 
has  a  special  mission  in  this  country — a  mission  not  to 
Catholics  alone,  but,  like  that  of  St.  Paul,  to  Jew  and  to  Gen- 
tile, to  Greek  and  to  Barbarian,  to  the  slave  and  to  the  free- 
man ;  and  again,  as  in  the  case  of  the  great  Apostle  of  the 
Nations — woe  to  him  if  he  does  not  preach,  for  he  is  bound 
to  preach.  No  bishop  or  priest  in  the  United  States  has 
probably  ever  been  more  indefatigable  or  inexhaustible  as 
a  preacher  or  lecturer  than  Dr.  Spalding.  For  more  than 
thirty  years  he  lectured  repeatedly  on  almost  every  subject 
in  any  way  connected  with  Catholic  history  or  teaching,  not 
only  in  his  own  native  State,  but  in  nearly  all  the  large  cities 
of  the  country.     His  voice  was  heard,  time  and  again,  in 


His  Labors  as  a  Lecturer  and  Preacher.     103 

New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Washington  City,  New 
Orleans,  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati,  and  other  cities.  He  lectured 
also  in  Canada. 

During  his  long  career  as  a  public  lecturer,  he  never  lost 
the  popular  favor,  and  rarely  ever  failed  to  be  greeted  by 
.audiences  generally  composed,  in  part,  of  non-Catholics. 

Even  in  Louisville,  where  he  was  so  well  known,  and 
where  he  so  often  spoke,  his  lectures  were  always  well 
attended.  As  a  preacher,  he  was  even  more  active.  For 
years  he  preached  at  the  late  Mass  in  the  cathedral  of  Louis- 
ville on  Sundays,  when  not  absent  visiting  the  diocese  or  on 
other  business.  Li  making  the  visitation  of  the  various  con- 
gregations under  his  jurisdiction,  he  always  preached  and 
frequently  lectured  once  or  twice  in  each  parish.  He  was 
often  more  really  eloquent  and  persuasive  in  addressing  the 
simple  people  of  some  remote  and  small  congregation  than 
on  more  solemn  occasions.  It  has  frequently  happened  to 
me  in  travelling  through  different  parts  of  Kentucky  to  be 
told  by  both  Catholics  and  Protestants  of  sermons  preached 
probably  twenty  years  before  by  Dr.  Spalding.  Not  only 
did  the  impression  still  remain,  but  the  subject,  and  even 
the  arguments  advanced,  or  the  points  made,  were  remem- 
bered. He  loved  too  to  give  missions,  and  to  preach  retreats 
in  convents,  academies,  and  colleges.  He  gave  retreats  to 
his  own  clergy  and  to  the  clergy  of  Cincinnati,  Detroit, 
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  possibly  other  dioceses  ;  and, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  persons  who  took  part  in 
these  holy  exercises,  he  conducted  them  in  the  most  satis- 
factory manner.  His  greatest  delight  was  to  preach  to  the 
young  ;  and  few,  indeed,  have  ever  possessed  in  so  eminent 
a  degree  the  faculty  of  instructing  children.  He  could  at 
once  place  himself  en  rapport  with  them,  win  their  confi- 
dence, and  hold  their  attention.  His  manner  was  always 
characterized  by  simplicity  and   naturalness  ;    but  on   these 


I04  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding.     ■ 

occasions  he  seemed  himself  to  become  a  child  again,  only 
holier  and  wiser  than  the  rest.  The  tone  of  his  voice,  his 
gestures,  his  sudden  exclamations,  his  merry  laugh,  all  be- 
spoke the  untroubled  joy  and  innocence  of  childhood.  For 
many  years  he  gave  the  annual  retreat  to  the  pupils  of 
Nazareth  Academy,  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity  and 
long  known  as  one  of  the  most  successful  schools  of  the 
West  or  South  ;  and  occasionally  he  preached  the  retreat  for 
the  students  of  St.  Joseph's  College.  Dr.  Spalding  was  not 
an  impassioned  speaker,  nor  yet  was  his  manner  cold  or 
unemotional.  His  discourses  were  seldom  characterized  by 
vehement  and  fervid  eloquence,  or  by  those  bursts  of  pas- 
sion which  electrify  an  audience  until  it  becomes  a  passive 
instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  orator,  who  plays  upon  it 
like  some  skilful  musician,  now  touching  the  chord  that 
vibrates  sweetest  joy,  and  now  that  which  thrills  the  deepest 
notes  of  woe.  The  style  is  the  man,  say  the  French  ;  and 
this  is  certainly  true  of  Dr.  Spalding,  considered  as  a 
speaker.  He  was  direct,  clear,  and  simple.  His  manner 
and  tone  of  voice  were  familiar  and  natural,  but  never 
without  grace  and  dignity. 

His  appearance  was  prepossessing.  He  was  above  the 
average  height,  full-chested,  and  endowed  with  a  perfectly 
developed  physique.  His  whole  countenance  expressed  the 
unpretending,  kind-hearted,  sympathetic  man.  His  features 
were  finely  chiselled  ;  his  brow  was  large  and  open,  and  his 
eye  full  of  intelligence.  His  voice  was  pleasant,  and  his 
enunciation  wonderfully  distinct.  Every  syllable  he  uttered 
was  heard  even  in  the  largest  and  most  crowded  buildings. 
He  rarely  failed  from  the  very  start  to  win  the  good-will  and 
confidence  of  an  audience.  His  personal  appearance,  his 
unassuming  yet  dignified  bearing,  the  frank  and  straightfor- 
ward manner  in  which  he  took  hold  of  his  subject,  his  love 
of  truth  and  justice  and  liberty,  his  sympathy  with  whatever 


His  Labors  as  a  Lecturer  and  Preacher.      105 

was  good  or  noble,  all  combined  to  enlist  the  feelings  of  his 
hearers  in  liis  behalf.  Thoroughly  American,  without,  how- 
ever, any  of  the  narrowness  of  nationalism,  he  loved  his 
country,  and  was  proud  of  its  history.  The  descendant  of 
forefathers  who  for  nearly  three  centuries  had  been  forced 
to  suffer  in  silence  every  outrage  and  injustice  for  their  faith,, 
he  loved  especially  those  principles  of  American  liberty 
which  gave  to  Catholics  not  only  freedom  of  religious  wor- 
ship, but  the  right  to  defend  and  uphold  the  teachings  of 
their  church.  Belonging  to  the  first  generation  of  American 
Catholics  whom  circumstances  had  permitted  to  receive  an 
education  in  their  own  country,  he  was  devoted  to  the 
struggles  and  triumphs  by  which  the  new  state  of  things 
had  been  brought  into  existence.  Especially  did  he  glory 
in  the  part  which  Catholics  had  taken  in  the  War  of  Indepen- 
dence. In  that  struggle  with  a  nation  which,  while  talking 
much  of  liberty,  has  persecuted  perhaps  more  than  any- 
other,  we  received,  as  he  loved  to  recall  to  the  minds  of  his 
countrymen,  the  timely  assistance  of  Catholic  France  and 
Poland  ;  and  the  "  Maryland  line  "  in  every  battle,  from 
Brooklyn  Heights  to  Yorktown,  fought  with  unequalled 
heroism  ;  whilst  Commodore  Barry,  whom  Washington, 
appointed  to  form  the  navy  of  the  United  States,  was  an 
Irish  Catholic.  At  a  time  when  the  national  feeling  was 
most  intense,  when  its  ardor  had  not  yet  been  cooled  by  the 
horrors  of  civil  war,  or  weakened  by  sectional  strife,  the 
public  was  much  more  exacting  in  its  demands  on  the  patri- 
otism and  loyalty  of  those  who  sought  to  win  its  favor  than 
now,  when  even  the  very  words  by  which  we  would  express 
sentiments  of  this  kind  have  lost  their  charm. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

POPULAR   OBJECTIONS    TO    THE   CHURCH — DR.    SPALDING'S 
MANNER  OF  ANSWERING  THEM. 

HE  great  objection  to  the  church,  in  the  minds  of 
the  American  people,  during  the  period  of  which 
I  am  speaking,  was  historical  rather  than  doctri- 
nal. Absurd  notions  of  Catholic  doctrine  were, 
it  is  true,  very  common.  Still,  people  were  averse  to  the 
church  rather  from  what  they  conceived  to  be  the  tendency 
of  Catholic  institutions,  than  from  any  clear  notion  that 
Catholic  doctrines  were  false.  The  dominant  thought  of 
the  country,  as  of  the  age,  was  political  and  social,  not  reli- 
gious. Never  had  so  vast  a  field,  one  so  teeming  with 
wealth  and  so  inviting  to  enterprise,  opened  before  an  active 
and  intelligent  race,  as  our  forefathers  beheld  here  in  the  New 
World.  The  natural  advantages  and  resources  of  the  country 
'developed  in  them  an  extraordinary  energy  and  industry, 
which  rarely  failed  to  be  rewarded  with  success.  Bold,  inde- 
pendent, self-reliant,  they  rose  up  and  with  comparative 
ease  threw  off  the  yoke  of  the  mother  country,  and  formed 
themselves  into  a  Republic  under  a  constitution  which,  in 
their  estimation  at  least,  embodied  the  perfection  of  human 
wisdom  in  all  that  relates  to  government.  The  growth  and 
prosperity  of  the  new  Republic  were  unprecedented,  and 
the  national  pride  grew  in  proportion.  When  we  beheld 
•cities  spring  up  in  a  night  from  dismal  swamps  as  by  the 
enchanter's  wand,  and  broad  fields,  teeming  with  richest  har- 
■vests,  smile  where  but  awhile  ago  the  primal  forest  frowned, 


Popular  Objections  to  the  Church.  107 

whilst  our  ships  covered  the  seas  and  our  flag  waved  in  every 
port,  it  was  but  natural  that  there  should  have  been  an 
uncontrollable  outburst  of  national  enthusiasm,  which  caused 
us  to  thmk  ourselves  the  greatest  and  most  favored  people 
of  the  world.  A  new  people,  living  in  a  new  world,  we  had 
learned  to  look  with  contempt  upon  all  that  was  old.  We 
were  the  heralds  of  a  dawn  which  promised  a  new  life  to  the 
race.  Knowing  but  little  of  the  history  of  the  past,  our 
ignorance  added  to  our  self-conceit.  We  looked  upon  those 
ages  which  had  prepared  for  us  the  blessings  which  we  were 
enjoying  as  ignorant,  superstitious,  and  barbarous.  And 
the  church,  which  during  long  centuries  had  fought  for 
liberty,  for  law,  for  order,  for  civilization,  was,  in  the  minds 
of  the  American  people,  associated  with  the  very  opposite 
of  all  this. 

The  anti-Catholic  prejudices  of  Englishmen  had  been  in- 
herited by  their  American  descendants,  who  found  it  much 
easier  to  emancipate  themselves  from  political  subjection 
to  the  mother  country,  than  to  assert  their  intellectual  inde- 
pendence and  renounce  the  legacy  of  religious  hate  which 
had  been  bequeathed  to  them.  The  English  Government, 
not  content  with  murdering  Catholics  and  confiscating  their 
goods,  had  done  all  that  it  was  possible  to  do  to  make  them 
what  it  desired  they  should  be — ignorant,  superstitious,  and 
disloyal.  Public  opinion  with  regard  to  Catholics  had  been 
so  thoroughly  perverted  throughout  the  English-speaking 
world  by  a  system  of  organized  calumny,  that  no  crime, 
however  nefarious,  could  be  imputed  to  them  which  the 
misguided  masses  were  not  ready  to  believe.  They  were 
persuaded  that  the  Papists  had  burned  London  once,  and 
that  they  only  awaited  the  opportunity  to  burn  it  again  ; 
that  they  had  planned  a  scheme  to  set  fire  to  all  the  ship- 
ping in  the  Thames ;  that  they  were  ready  to  rise,  at  a  sig- 
nal, and  massacre  all  their  Protestant  neighbors ;  that  they 


loS  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

were  plotting  to  assassinate  the  king,  and  murder  all  the 
leading  divines  of  England.  These  lies  readily  found  cre- 
dence with  the  masses,  and  they  suited  the  designs  of  un- 
principled and  tyrannical  statesmen  too  well  not  to  be 
encouraged  by  them.  In  the  British  Provinces  of  North 
America,  public  opinion  was  scarcely  less  unfavorable  to 
Catholics  than  in  England. 

During  the  whole  period  of  our  colonial  history.  Catholics 
were  persecuted,  not  indeed  so  generally  or  with  the  same 
relentless  cruelty  as  in  England,  but  still  they  were  kept  in 
bondage  and  regarded  with  suspicion  ;  and  even  when  they 
were  allowed  to  live  in  peace,  it  was  rather  from  indifference 
than  from  any  feeling  that  they  were  worthy  of  toleration^ 
In  Maryland  even,  where  they  had  proclaimed  civil  and  reli- 
gious liberty,  they  were  doomed  to  see  themselves  deprived 
of  all  rights,  and  subjected  to  the  most  vexatious  persecu- 
tion. By  successive  acts  of  the  Provincial  Assembly,  they 
were  denied  the  right  of  public  worship,  were  compelled  to 
contribute  to  the  support  of  the  Anglican  clergy,  were  for- 
bidden to  teach,  and  disqualified  from  holding  civil  offices 
unless  they  took  an  oath  which  implied  a  denial  of  their 
faith.  This  state  of  things  continued  almost  to  the  break- 
ing-out of  the  War  of  Independence.  The  Revolution,, 
which  sprang  from  hatred  of  England,  and  the  emergency  of 
the  crisis,  for  the  moment  caused  internal  jealousies  to  be 
forgotten,  and  all  united  against  the  common  enemy.  The 
Convention  of  1774,  in  its  appeal  to  the  country,  entreated 
all  classes  of  citizens,  by  their  duty  to  God  and  the  nation, 
to  forget  all  religious  disputes  and  animosities,  that  they 
might  all  assist  in  the  defence  of  their  common  rights  and 
liberties.  The  causes  which  finally  brought  about  the  in- 
sertion of  the  article  forbidding  Congress  to  interfere  with 
the  freedom  of  religious  worship  are  enumerated  by  Arch- 
bishop Carroll,  to  whose  wise  and  enlightened  counsels  the 


Popular  Objections  to  the  Chu7'ch.  109 

result  is  partly  attributable.  "  Many  reasons,"  he  says, 
"  concurred  to  produce  this  happy  and  just  article  in  the 
new  constitutions.  First,  some  of  the  leading  characters  in 
the  direction  of  American  councils  were  by  principle  averse 
to  all  religious  oppression  ;  and  having  been  much  acquainted 
with  the  manners  and  doctrines  of  Roman  Catholics,  repre- 
sented strongly  the  injustice  of  excluding  them  from  any 
civil  right.  Secondly,  Catholics  concurred  as  generally,  and 
with  equal  zeal,  in  repelling  that  oppression  which  first  pro- 
duced hostility  with  Great  Britain,  and  it  would  have  been 
impolitic  as  well  as  unjust  to  deprive  them  of  a  common 
share  in  advantages  purchased  with  common  danger  and  by 
united  exertions.  Thirdly,  the  assistance,  or  at  least  the 
neutrality  of  Canada  was  deemed  necessary  to  the  success 
of  the  United  States,  and  to  give  equal  rights  to  the  Roman 
Catholics  might  tend  to  dispose  the  Canadians  favorably 
towards  the  Americans.  Lastly,  France  began  to  show  a 
disposition  to  befriend  the  United  States,  and  it  was  con- 
ceived to  be  very  impolitic  to  disgust  that  powerful  king- 
dom by  unjust  severity  against  the  religion  which  it  pro- 
fessed."* 

It  is  evident  from  this  passage  that  the  toleration  of  the 
Catholic  Church  under  the  Constitution  was,  in  the  begin- 
ning, the  result  of  circumstances  which  American  Protestants 
could  not  control,  rather  than  of  any  good-will,  on  their  part, 
towards  Catholics ;  and  as  the  principles,  upon  which  the  Con- 
stitution rests,  began  to  impress  themselves  more  clearly 
upon  the  minds  of  the  people,  it  became  evident  to  all  that 
they  were  wholly  incompatible  with  any  interference  on  the 
part  of  the  state  in  matters  of  religion,  and  thus,  the  liberty 
once  granted  to  the  church,  was  consecrated  by  its  association 
with  the  fundamental  laws  of  our  government.     The  Protes- 

•  MS.  relation  of  Bishop  Carroll  on  origin  and  condition  of  Catholics 
in  the  United  States. 


no  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

tants,  however,  very  generally,  still  retained  the  anti-Cath- 
olic prejudices  of  a  former  generation.  At  the  time  of 
the  Revolution,  the  church  had  no  existence  in  any  of  the 
colonies  except  in  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania.  The  few 
Catholics  who  had  settled  in  the  other  colonies,  not  being 
allowed  to  profess  their  religion,  dissembled  or  became  mem- 
bers of  some  one  or  other  of  the  sects.  Thus,  in  nearly  all 
the  British  provinces  in  America,  Protestants  held  undis- 
puted possession  of  the  religious  ground.  They  had  no 
intercourse  with  Catholics,  and  the  little  knowledge  which 
they  had  of  the  church  was  derived  from  sources  thoroughly 
tainted  and  corrupt.  English  history,  for  more  than  two 
centuries,  had  been  a  conspiracy  against  the  truth  in  all 
that  related  to  the  church.  There  was  no  Catholic  English 
literature,  or,  at  least,  none  accessible  to  the  reading  public 
of  this  country,  or  which,  even  had  it  been  within  their 
reach,  was  of  a  kind  to  attract  their  attention  or  meet  their 
objections.  The  most  absurd  and  preposterous  views  con- 
cerning the  history  of  the  church  in  the  Middle  Ages  were 
accepted  as  being  beyond  dispute,  and  no  one  ever  thought 
of  questioning  their  correctness.  The  church  was  repre- 
sented as  having  always  been  the  ally  of  ignorance  and 
tyranny,  and  the  enemy  of  the  people.  She  had  kept  the 
nations  in  ignorance,  and  had,  with  the  most  obstinate  per- 
sistence, opposed  all  progress.  The  civilization,  enlighten- 
ment, and  liberty  of  modern  times  were  attributed  exclu- 
sively to  the  Reformation,  which  was  the  herald  of  the  new 
dawn  after  the  night  of  ages.  To  the  prejudices  of  the  Old 
World  were  added  others  peculiar  to  our  own  social  and 
political  condition.  The  church,  it  was  said  and  believed 
by  nearly  all  Protestants,  was  the  creation  of  emperors  and. 
kings,  under  whose  protection  she  had  grown  powerful,  but 
without  which  she  could  not  exist.  Hence,  it  was  argued, 
Catholics    must  necessarily  be  hostile  to   republican   insti- 


Dr.   Spc./di/Lgs  Metliod  of  A^isweriiig  Them.    1 1  r 

tua'ons.  Tr.rVed,  so  incompatible  were  Catholicism  and 
republic?.nl';/j  thought  to  be  that  our  proud  countrymen 
looked  uj-'-^n  Catholics  with  more  of  contempt  and  pity  than 
of  alarm.  It  was  not  considered  possible  that  the  church 
could  ever  become  strong  here.  Liberty  and  enlightenment 
would  necessarily  prove  fatal  to  her ;  and  her  children,  it 
was  confidently  believed,  leaving  behind  them  their  political 
creed  to  adopt  the  principles  of  this  free  Republic,  would 
soon  also  disengage  themselves  from  the  shackles  of  their 
religf>us  faith.  Protestantism  had  not  then  become  in  the 
Un't<'d  States  the  feeble  and  intangible  thing  it  now  is,  and 
its  influence  upon  the  thought  of  the  country  was  very 
great.  The  preachers,  made  reckless  by  impunity,  hesi- 
tated not  to  impute  the  most  absurd  and  impossible  doc- 
trines and  practices  to  Catholics,  and  their  words  were 
received  without  questioning  by  minds  prepared  to  believe 
anything,  however  monstrous,  of  men  whom  they  had  been 
taught  to  regard  as  worse  than  idolaters.  The  great  work 
of  the  Catholic  apologist  in  this  country,  in  the  generation 
which  preceded  ours,  was  to  clear  awav  the  debris  and 
rubbish  with  which  false  history  and  ignorant  prejudices 
had  sought  to  obscure  and  disfigure  the  whole  life  of  the 
church.  And  it  was  to  this  task  that  Dr.  Spalding  ad- 
dressed himself,  both  as  a  lecturer  and  as  a  writer.  Each 
country,  as  well  as  each  age,  has  its  peculiar  phases  of 
thought,  which  must  be  taken  into  consideration  by  those 
who  seek  to  influence  public  opinion.  One  of  Dr.  Spalding's 
chief  merits  as  a  public  teacher  was,  that  he  fully  understood 
the  character  of  the  persons  whom  he  sought  to  enlighten. 
An  American,  he  knew  his  countrymen,  and  admired  them ; 
a  Catholic,  he  loved  his  religion,  and  was  convinced  of  its 
truth.  That,  in  his  person,  between  faith  and  patriotism 
there  was  no  conflict,  was  manifest.  He  loved  his  country 
all  the  more  because  he  was  a  Catholic,  and  he  was  all  the 


ii2  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

sincerer  Catholic  because  no  mere  human  authority  was 
brought  to  influence  the  free  offering  of  his  soul  to  God's 
service.  He  accepted  with  cheerful  courage  the  position  in 
which  God  had  placed  his  church  in  this  young  Republic, 
and  he  asked  for  her,  not  privilege  or  protection,  but  jus- 
tice, common  rights  under  the  common  law  ;  and  such  was 
his  confidence  in  God,  and  in  the  truth  of  his  cause,  that  he 
had  no  doubt  as  to  the  final  issue  of  the  struggle  of  religion, 
free  and  untrammelled,  with  the  prejudices  of  a  people  who, 
however  erroneous  and  mistaken  their  views  might  be,  were 
still  fair-minded  and  generous.  Admiring  much  in  the  past, 
he  still  did  not  think  that  all  was  lost  because  that  past  was 
gone.  Let  the  old,  he  thought,  the  feeble,  the  impotent 
complain  ;  those  to  whom  God  gives  youth  and  strength 
must  act ;  and  the  church  is  ever  young  and  ever  strong. 
God  is  infinite  strength,  and  of  this  attribute,  as  of  his 
others,  his  spouse  participates.  If  the  latest  word  of  phi- 
losophy, both  in  metaphysics  and  natural  science,  is  force; 
if  the  old  theory  of  inertia  has  been  dropped,  since  the 
power  of  analysis  has  shown  that  everywhere  there  is  action, 
motion,  force  ;  let  it  be  so.  The  church,  too,  is  strength. 
She  has  a  force  and  an  energy  of  her  own.  Daughter  of 
heaven,  she  has  brought  on  earth  some  of  that  divine 
efficacy  by  which  all  things  were  made.  Christ  is  the 
strength  of  God,  and  from  his  cross  he  poured  into  the 
heart  of  his  spouse,  together  with  his  life-blood,  his  god- 
like power. 

He  knew  that  the  church  which  sprang  from  the  conflict 
of  the  God-man  with  death,  like  him,  manifests  her  highest 
power  in  her  struggles  VvMth  the  princes  of  this  world.  Like 
the  life  of  man,  that  of  the  church  is  a  warfare.  He  had 
read  her  history  too  attentively  not  to  understand  that  she 
cannot  but  take  part  in  the  struggle  between  good  and  evil, 
vice  and  virtue,  truth  and  error  ;  between  the  cause  of  God 


Dr.  Spalding s  MctJiod  of  A7isweri7ig  Them.    113 

and  that  of  Satan,  which  is  found  wherever  there  are  human 
beings.  The  march  of  the  church  through  the  world  and 
through  the  ages  is  not  along  pleasant  roads,  leading 
through  delightful  scenes  and  peaceful  prospects ;  or,  if 
so,  only  at  times  and  rarely.  If  she  move  in  pomp  and 
worldly  greatness  amid  the  acclamations  of  peoples  and  of 
nations,  her  triumph  not  unfrequently  ends  in  sorrow  and 
humiliation.  The  road  wherein  her  progress  is  most  secure 
is  the  way  of  the  cross,  because  her  strength  comes  from 
humility,  from  poverty,  from  lowliness. 

The  difficulties  of  our  position  in  this  country  forty  years 
ago  neither  alarmed  nor  discouraged  Dr.  Spalding.  He  had 
the  most  living  faith  in  the  indefectible  vitality  of  the 
church.  Others  might  believe  that  she  was  feeble  with 
age,  that  the  shadow  of  death  was  upon  her,  that  the  light 
of  science,  thrown  into  her  dimly-lit  sanctuary,  would  dispel 
the  charm  which  for  so  many  ages  had  held  captive  millions 
of  hearts  ;  but  he  knew  that  she  was  strong  and  beautiful 
as  when  first  she  came  from  the  hands  of  God,  and  that,  if 
the  veil  with  which  ignorance  and  passion  had  sought  to 
hide  her  divine  countenance  could  but  be  lifted,  the  world 
would  again  kneel  before  her  and  ask  to  be  forgiven. 

Without  entering  into  the  complex  and  delicate  question 
of  the  proper  relations  of  the  church  and  state,  he  accepted 
the  actual  position  of  the  church  in  this  country  with  thank- 
fulness and  without  mental  reservation.  In  this  matter,  he 
neither  blamed  the  past  nor  sought  to  dictate  to  the  future, 
but  put  his  hand  to  the  work  which  God  had  placed  before 
him.  He  saw  all  that  was  to  be  done,  and,  without  stop- 
ping to  reflect  how  little  he  could  do,  he  began  at  once  to 
do  what  he  could.  Taking  a  moderate,  and  possibly  a  just, 
estimate  of  his  own  ability,  he  considered  that  his  mission 
as  a  writer  and  public  teacher  demanded  that  he  should  be 
useful  and  practical  rather  than  original  or  profound.    Hence 


114  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

he  neither  wrote  nor  spoke  for  posterity,  but  for  the  genera- 
tion in  which  he  Hved,  His  first  aim  was  to  remove  the 
prejudices  which  false  history  and  a  perverted  hterature 
had  created  in  the  minds  of  his  countrymen.  The  influence 
of  the  church  on  society,  on  civiHzation,  and  on  civil  liberty 
was  wholly  misunderstood ;  her  services  in  the  cause  of 
learning,  of  art,  and  of  commerce  were  ignored  ;  her  undy- 
ing love  for  the  poor  and  the  oppressed  were  forgotten. 

She  had  been  the  greatest  school  of  respect  the  world  had 
ever  seen  ;  to  her  woman  owed  her  position  in  Christian 
society,  and  all  the  sacred  privileges  with  which  public 
opinion  surrounded  her  ;  to  her  the  family  was  indebted 
for  its  civilizing  and  sanctifying  power  ;  her  monks  had  pre- 
served the  literature  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  had 
been  almost  the  only  lovers  of  knowledge  in  a  barbarous 
age.  They  had  reclaimed  the  waste  land  of  Europe,  and 
had  been  the  chief  agents  in  causing  th-e  warlike  barbarians 
to  settle  down  and  become  peaceful  tillers  of  the  soil ;  they 
too,  together  with  the  bishops  and  popes  of  the  church,  had 
inspired  all  the  wisest  and  most  humane  legislation  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  And  yet,  all  these  services  were  forgotten, 
and  in  the  minds  of  the  masses  of  the  American  people  the 
influence  of  the  church  upon  the  world  was  identified  with 
the  opposite  of  all  that  is  good.  Hence  it  was  all-impor- 
tant to  place  her  history  in  its  true  light,  and  to  refute  the 
slanders  and  calumnies  with  which,  during  three  centuries, 
she  had  been  assailed  with  impunity,  because  Catholics,  at 
least  those  whose  native  language  was  English,  had  not  been 
allowed  to  repel  the  attacks  of  their  revilers. 

Dr.  Spalding  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  become  the  apolo- 
gist of  his  faith,  according  to  the  measure  of  ability  which 
God  had  given  him,  before  the  American  public. 

The  essentially  illogical  nature  of  Protestantism  would,  he 
knew,  soon  undermine  its  influence,  whilst  the  free  institu- 


Dr.  Spalding  s  Method  of  A  nsivcring   Them.    115 

tions  of  this  country  would  act  as  dissolvents  ui)on  the  loose 
organizations  and  uncertain  doctrines  of  the  various  oppos- 
ing sects,  whose  only  bond  of  union  is  the  negation  implied 
by  their  common  name.  As  a  system  of  religious  belief, 
Protestantism  was  already  losing  its  hold  on  tlie  minds  of 
the  people,  who  were  both  confused  and  scandalized  b)-  its 
hesitating  and  doubtful  attitude  towards  the  positive  dog- 
mas of  Christianity.  It  was  useless,  therefore,  to  show  that 
the  Bible  alone,  without  a  living  authority,  could  not  form 
the  basis  either  of  religious  unity  or  faith,  when  the  history 
of  the.  sects  was  day  by  day  rendering  this  perfectly  mani- 
fest even  to  the  most  inattentive  observers.  Hence,  he  sought 
less  to  refute  Protestantism  than  to  prepare  the  way  for 
Catholic  truth,  by  seeking  to  enlighten  public  opinion  con- 
cerning the  real  nature  and  spirit  of  the  church.  Many  of 
his  best  essays,  such  as  those  on  Literature  and  the  Arts 
in  the  Middle  Ages,  Schools  and  Universities  in  the  Dark 
Ages,  and  The  Lifluence  of  Catholicity  on  Civil  Liberty 
were  written  with  this  view.  In  these  essays,  Dr.  Spalding 
presents,  in  a  popular  form,  and  in  a  style  remarkable  for 
simplicity  and  ease,  the  facts  which  show  the  incalculable 
value  of  the  services  rendered  by  the  church  to  the  cause  of 
progress  and  civilization  during  those  centuries  in  which  sh 


e 


contended,  single-handed,  agajnst  barbarism  and  ignorance. 
That  no  one  may  object  to  his  statement  of  facts,  he  addu- 
ces the  testimony  of  impartial  non-Catholic  writers  of  Ger- 
many, France,  and  England  to  prove  that  the  church  was 
the  only  safeguard  of  society  at  a  time  when  its  very  foun- 
dations seemed  shaken. 

The  following  outline  will  give  us  some  idea  of  his 
manner  of  dealing  with  this  subject  : 

All  the  nations  of  Europe  received  their  religion  from  the 
church,  who  alone  converted  them  from  paganism,  and  to 
their  religion  they  are  indebted  for  their  civilization.     Since 


ii6  J^ifo  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

(Christ,  only  Christian  nations  have  been  civilized.  The 
church  saved  Europe  from  Mohammedanism,  which  would 
have  drowned  all  the  noble  aspirations  of  her  Christian  peo- 
ple in  indolence  and  debauch. 

By  placing  Mary,  the  Mother  of  Jesus,  before  the  eyes  of 
all  men  as  the  ideal  woman,  the  church  taught  them  to 
honor  her  whole  sex;  and  through  this  restoration  of  woman 
to  her  proper  sphere  in  society,  she  exercised  a  beneficent 
influence  on  the  morals  and  literature  of  European  nations. 

Even  the  extravagances  of  chivalry  were  not  without  cer- 
tain good  results.  Female  influence  prompted  not  only  to 
deeds  of  valor,  but  also  stimulated  to  triumphs  of  intellect ; 
the  delicate  hand  of  woman  wove  not  alone  the  chaplet 
which  decorated  the  warrior's  brow,  but  also  the  laurel  and 
the  ivy  wreath  which  adorned  the  brow  of  genius.  To  show 
more  fully  the  great  services  rendered  to  society  by  the 
church,  he  enters  into  details,  and  proves  that  all  the  essen- 
tial elements  of  our  modern  civilization  first  came  into 
existence  during  the  time  when  she  controlled  the  destinies 
of  Europe.  Long  before  the  advent  of  Protestantism,  the 
European  mind  was  active  in  every  department  of  human 
knowledge  ;  the  spirit  of  invention  and  discovery  had  mani- 
fested itself;  and  men  were  fast  attaining  to  a  more  thorough 
knowledge  of  God's  material  universe.  The  modern  lan- 
guages, in  all  their  richness  and  strength,  had  been  formed, 
giving  certain  proof  of  the  progress  of  the  people  in  refine- 
ment and  taste.  The  art  of  printing  had  been  invented, 
schools  and  universities  had  been  founded,  the  mariner's 
compass  had  been  applied  to  purposes  of  navigation,  and 
America,  the  land  of  promise,  had  been  discovered  ;  whilst 
commerce,  under  the  fostering  care  of  the  Italian  Repub- 
lics, had  begun  to  promote  that  interchange  of  the  products 
of  the  earth  which  was  destined  one  day  to  bind"  together 
the  nations  of  the  world   in  bonds  of  sympathy  and  love. 


Dr.  Spaldmgs  Meiliod  of  Aiisiv:ri)ig  Them.    117 

The  Christian  nations  were  on  the  certain  road  of  progress, 
and  had  they  but  remained  united  in  faith,  their  advance- 
ment would  have  been  both  more  rapid  and  more  uniform. 
The  effect  of  the  advent  of  Protestantism  was  to  disturb  the 
natural  march  of  European  civilization,  by  introducing  ele- 
ments of  discord,  which  broke  up  the  brotherhood  of  na- 
tions, and  led  to  centuries  of  persecution  and  war,  the  evil 
effects  of  which  are  still  felt.  Add  to  this  that  the  reli- 
gious and  political  divisions  of  Europe  stopped  the  progress 
of  the  faith  among  pagan  nations,  at  a  time  when  the  day 
seemed  near  at  hand  when  all  the  world  would  be  Christian, 
and  we  will  be  able  to  perceive  how  the  true  progress  of 
the  whole  race  was  retarded  by  Protestantism.  This  is  but 
a  feeble  statement  of  the  leading  arguments  by  which  Di 
Spalding  sought  to  vindicate  the  church  from  the  charge  o( 
opposition  to  progress  and  civilization.  Every  reader  is,  a 
present,  more  or  less  familiar  with  this  whole  question,  which 
has  been  exhaustively  treated  by  many  and  able  writers, 
so  that  even  the  more  intelligent  Protestants  are  now  pre- 
pared to  admit  the  great  services  which  the  church  has 
rendered  to  society.  This,  however,  was  not  the  case  when 
Dr.  Spalding  wrote  his  essays  on  this  subject,  which,  though 
not  remarkable  for  depth  of  thought  or  originality  of  appre- 
ciation of  facts,  had  the  great  merit  of  presenting,  in  a 
popular  and  forcible  manner,  the  claims  of  the  church  upon 
the  gratitude  of  all  honest  and  fair-minded  men  ;  showing, 
at  the  same  time,  that  the  cause  of  progress,  properly  un- 
derstood, had  nothing  to  fear  from  her  influence.  Appear- 
ing at  a  time  when  the  Catholic  controversy  in  this  country, 
especially  in  its  political  and  social  aspects,  was  at  its  height, 
they  were  read  by  both  Catholics  and  Protestants,  and  doubt- 
less produced  a  salutary  effect  upon  public  opinion. 


CHAPTER   X. 

APPOINTED  BISHOP  OF  LENGONE,  IN  PART.  INFID.,  AND 
COADJUTOR  OF  BISHOP  FLAGET — DEATH  OF  BISHOP 
FLAGET — STATE     OF     THE    DIOCESE     AT     THE    TIME    OF 

'     DR.    SPALDING'S    CONSECRATION. 

ISHOP    CHABRAT'S    resignation,    as   we    have 
already  seen,  had  been  accepted   by  the    Holy 
See   in    1847.      He  was  at    the   time  in  France, 
and  he  never  afterwards  returned  to  the  United 
States. 

The  whole  burden  of  the  diocese  of  Louisville  again 
fell  upon  the  shoulders  of  Bishop  Flaget,  who  was  over 
eighty  years  old,  and  completely  broken  by  his  long  and 
untiring  labors  on  the  missions  of  Kentucky.  His  infirmi- 
ties and  extreme  old  age  rendered  him  absolutely  incapable 
of  attending  to  the  duties  of  his  office,  as  he,  with  that 
perfect  humility  and  self-forgetfulness  so  characteristic  of 
his  whole  life,  was  the  first  to  recognize.  To  be  thus  left 
to  bear  a  weight  of  responsibility  to  which,  in  his  helpless 
condition,  he  felt  himself  wholly  unequal,  caused  his  ex- 
quisitely sensitive  nature  to  suffer  most  acutely.  Speaking 
of  this  period  of  his  life,  Dr.  Spalding  says:  "He -spent 
most  of  his  time  in  prayer.  From  his  lips  audible  sighs 
would  often  break  forth  deploring  what  he  called  his  utter 
'nullity'  {ilia  indiitc),  and  the  impossibilit\-  in  \\-hich  he 
found  himself,  from  almost  continual  vertigo,  of  thinking 
of  any  serious  business.  Yet  in  all  things  he  A\as  fully 
resigned   to   the  will   of  God,  and   his  accustomed  ejacula- 


Appointed  Bishop  of  Lctigonc.  119 

tions  at  tlio  end  of  all  his  prayers  and  sighs  were:  '  May 
the   good  God  be  praised!     Ma}- his  holy  will  be  done!'" 

The  interests  of  the  diocese  demanded  that  a  new  coad- 
jutor should  be  appointed  as  soon  as  possible.  There  were 
congregations  which  the  Bishop  had  not  visited  for  several 
years,  and  numbers  were,  in  consequence,  waiting  to  receive 
the  sacrameJit  of  confirmation  ;  whilst  the  slumbering  faith 
and  zeal  of  the  Catholic  population  in  general  called  for 
some  one  capable  of  infusing  new  life  and  vigor. 

Bishop  Flaget,  in  this  state  of  affairs,  naturalh'  turned  to 
Dr.  Spalding  as  the  person  best  fitted  to  relieve  him  of  a 
responsibility  to  which  he  was  no  longer  equal.  Dr.  Spal- 
ding had  now  been  laboring  in  the  diocese  with  great 
earnestness  and  success  for  nearly  fourteen  years.  By  his 
talents,  his  learning,  and  the  blamelessness  of  his  life,  he 
had  won  the  respect  and  admiration  of  all.  He  was  still 
young,  but  he  was  already  known  far  beyond  the  limits  of 
his  native  State  both  as  a  preacher  and  writer  of  more  than 
ordinary  ability.  Identified  with  the  diocese  by  birth,  by 
education,  and  by  every  natural  sympathy,  his  frank,  open 
character  and  genial  manners  gave  him  peculiar  advantages 
for  laboring  wath  success  amongst  his  own  people,  who 
were  not  only  proud  of  him,  but  loved  him.  He  had 
for  several  years  occupied  the  second  highest  position 
in  the  diocese,  at  a  time  when,  owing  to  circumstances 
already  mentioned,  the  chief  responsibility  of  the  eccle- 
siastical administration  devolved  upon  him  ;  and  his  con- 
duct had  been  characterized  by  great  prudence  and  wis- 
dom, united  with  a  practical  understanding  of  the  de- 
tails of  business.  He  was  thoroughly  conversant  with  the 
whole  h'story  of  the  church  in  Kentucky,  as  well  as  with 
the  wise  and  enlightened  views  of  the  noble  and  apostolic 
men  to  whom,  under  God,  it  was  indebted  for  its  present 
condition.      He  had   grown   up   at   the   feet   of   Flaget   and 


I20  Life  of  ArcJibishop  Spalding. 

David,  had  imbibed  their  spirit,  and  was  filled  with  that 
disinterested  and  self-sacrificing  zeal  which,  if  not  found  in 
the  bishop,  will  most  generally  be  sought  for  in  vain  in  his 
priests.  He  was  a  student,  but  had  never  allowed  his  de- 
votion to  books  to  interfere  with  the  discharge  of  the  active 
duties  of  the  ministry.  Everything,  in  a  word,  seemed  tO' 
point  to  him  as  the  one  destined  by  God  to  take  from  the 
failing  shoulders  of  the  saintly  patriarch  of  the  West  the 
burden  which  they  were  no  longer  able  to  bear.  He  had, 
indeed,  been  thought  of  in  connection  with  the  episcopacy 
some  years  previous  to  this  time,  as  will  be  seen  from  the 
following  letter  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  White,  written  in  Sep- 
tember, 1845,  with  a  view  to  dissuade  Dr.  Spalding  from 
withdrawing  his  name  as  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Catholic 
Magazine  : 

"  I  received  your  very  acceptable  communication  but  two 
days  since,  and  after  some  reflection  on  the  plan  which  you 
have  been  thinking  of,  in  regard  to  the  magazine,  I  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be  better  for  its  interests 
that  you  should  continue  your  name,  as  at  present,  in 
connection  with  mine.  This  can  be  done  without  sub- 
jecting you  to  the  necessity  of  furnishing  an  article  every 
month.  As  you  are,  in  the  public  estimation,  a  '  doctor 
optitnus,  ecclesics  sanctce  lumen,'  your  connection  with  the 
magazine  will  contribute  to  its  circulation,  while  the  with- 
drawal of  your  name,  at  the  end  of  the  year,  would  afford 
a  pretext  to  many  persons  for  discontinuing  their  subscrip- 
tions. .  .  .  1  {ov&stc,  3iX\d  I  knozv  from  ail  official  source, 
that  you  will  be  soon,  perhaps  before  the  next  council,  pro- 
moted to  the  episcopacy.  Then,  I  presume,  you  will  with- 
draw from  the  magazine,  and,  in  my  opinion,  this  would  be 
the  most  favorable  occasion  for  doing  so.  It  is  to  be  hoped^ 
however,  that  you  will  always  co-operate  in  supporting  its 
usefulness." 


Appointed  Bishop  of  Lengojie.  1 2 1 

Bishop  Chabrat  had  offered  his  resignation  when  this  let- 
ter was  written,  and  the  official  information  concerning  Dr, 
Spalding's  promotion  was,  doubtless,  based  upon  the  sup- 
position that  Bishop  Flaget  would  at  once  need  another 
coadjutor.  Bishop  Chabrat,  however,  was  not  permitted  to 
resign  until  1847,  '^'^^  ^^-  Spalding's  appointment  was  in 
consequence  delayed.  When,  at  length,  the  time  came  to 
select  a  successor  to  Bishop  Chabrat,  Dr.  Spalding's  promo- 
tion met  with  opposition  in  certain  quarters,  as  the  following 
letter  of  Bishop  Miles,  written  in  Baltimore,  in  May,  1848, 
will  show  : 

**  Right  Rev.  and  Dear  Friend  : 

"  I  reached  this  city  on  Saturday,  and  was  very  kindly 
received  by  the  Archbishop,  who  soon  introduced  the  sub- 
ject which  of  late  has  given  your  friends  so  much  uneasiness. 
He  showed  me  a  letter  from  Bishop  Flaget,  in  reply  to  one 
which  he  had  written  on  this  vexed  question.  Bishop  Flaget 
has  agreed  to  leave  the  whole  matter  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Baltimore  and  Bishop  Kenrick  of  Philadelphia,  and  they 
have  both  written  to  Rome  in  terms  which  will  cause  all 
hesitation  to  cease.  I  hope  your  health  has  improved,  and 
that  in  our  next  Provincial  Council  Kentucky  will  be  repre- 
sented by  one  of  her  own  sons." 

A  few  weeks  after  this  letter  was  written,  the  Bulls 
appointing  Dr.  Spalding  Bishop  of  Lengone,  in  partibns 
infideliiim,  and  Coadjutor  of  the  Bishop  of  Louisville,  aim 
jure  successiojiis,  were  made  out  in  Rome,  and  were  received 
by  him  on  the  Feast  of  St.  Laurence,  the  loth  of  August,. 
1848. 

They  were  handed  to  him  before  the  altar  of  the  old 
cathedral,  in  a  very  impressive  and  solemn  manner,  by  the 
venerable  Bishop  Flaget,  who  announced  his  intention  of 


122  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

consecrating  him  himself  in  spite  of  his  feeble  health,  that 
he  might  thus,  by  the  last  official  act  of  an  episcopal  life 
extending  over  forty  years,  place  the  crown  upon  all  his 
labors,  and  leave  to  the  church,  which  he  had  founded  and 
built  up,  a  worthy  pastor  in  the  son  who  had  grown  up  at 
his  side,  and  who  had  been  the  staff  of  his  declining  age. 

After  receiving  the  Bull:.,  Dr.  Spalding  entered  into  a 
spiritual  retreat,  in  order  to  prepare  himself,  by  prayer  and 
holy  recollection,  for  the  worthy  reception  of  the  plenitude 
of  priestly  power.  The  consecration  took  place  on  the 
Feast  of  the  Holy  Name  of  Mary,  the  loth  of  September, 
1848.  The  ceremony  was  performed  by  Bishop  Flaget, 
assisted  by  the  Bishops  of  Philadelphia  and  Nashville.  The 
Archbishop  of  St.  Louis  preached  the  usual  sermon,  taking 
as  his  subject  the  nature  and  perpetuity  of  the  apostolic 
ministry.  The  day  was  one  of  great  festivity  in  Louisville. 
From  an  early  hour  the  cathedral  was  thronged,  and  many 
remained  outside,  being  unable  to  gain  admission  to  the 
sacred  edifice. 

The  ceremony  lasted  for  three  hours,  and  at  its  close 
Bishop  Flaget  returned  to  his. room,  completely  exhausted, 
saying,  with  evident  emotion,  "  Now  will  I  sing  the  canticle 
of  holy  Simeon — '  Now  dost  thou,  O  Lord,  dismiss  thy 
servant  in  peace.' "  Even  the  noblest  and  most  Christian 
souls  not  unfrequently  find  great  difficulty  in  realizing  that 
±he  time  has  come  when  they  should  retire  from  the  re- 
sponsibility of  office,  in  order  henceforth  to  lead  the  life  of 
prayer  "  hidden  with  Christ  in  God."  We  cling  with  such 
tenacity  to  power  and  the  thought  of  our  own  importance, 
that  when  increasing  years  and  infirmities  warn  us,  to  use 
the  expression  of  Bishop  Flaget,  of  our  approaching  nullity, 
we  fret  and  worry,  and  are  loath  to  confess,  even  to  our- 
selves, that  for  us  God's  providence  has  sounded  the  signal 
of  retreat  from  the  active  duties  of  life.     Even  they  who 


DcatJi  of  Bishop  Flaget.  123 

liave  labored  most  zealously  in  the  cause  of  religion  are 
sometimes  exposed  to  this  temptation,  allowing  the  evening 
of  lives,  which  should  be  devoted  to  repose  and  contempla- 
tion, to  be  disturbed  by  anxious  restlessness.  To  my  mind, 
not  the  least  of  the  many  proofs  of  the  exalted  virtue  of 
Bishop  Flaget  is  found  in  the  cheerful  readiness  with  which 
he  resigned  the  whole  administration  of  the  dtocese  which 
he  had  created  into  the  hands  of  his  beloved  son  in  Christ. 
After  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Spalding,  he  at  once  with- 
drew into  the  solitude  of  his  own  heart,  and  dwelt  hence- 
forth in  undisturbed  communion  with  God.  "  Looking  at 
his  career  with  the  eye  of  faith,"  says  his  biographer,  "  the 
portion  of  it  which  appears  most  luminous  is  that  precisely 
Avhich  to  the  eye  of  nature  would  seem  the  most  shrouded 
in  gloom — the  months  which  immediately  preceded  his  final 
•dissolution.  The  sun  of  his  life  sank  calmly  to  rest  ;  but, 
as  it  did  so,  it  lighted  up  with  golden  tints  the  clouds  which 
overhung  the  horizon,  reflecting  a  mild  but  glorious  flood  of 
lisht  over  the  world  it  left  behind.  His  whole  life  may  be 
said  to  have  been  one  continual  preparation  for  death.  He 
directed  all  his  actions  to  this  great  moment  on  which 
■eternity  depends.  As  the  event  approached,  however,  his 
thoughts  turned  to  it  more  frequently,  and  his  preparation 
became  more  immediate  and  earnest.  To  his  friends,  who 
often  wished  him  better  healt4i  and  many  more  years  of  life, 
he  invariably  replied,  '  Oh  !  no  ;  pray  not  for  longer  life, 
but  for  a  holy  and  happy  death.'  This  was  all  he  desired 
and  asked  for.  His  most  fervent  aspiration  was  to  exchange 
this  life  of  toil  and  trouble  for  one  of  never-ending  bliss."  * 
He  lived  for  a  year  and  a  half  after  the  appointment  of 
Bishop  Spalding  as  his  coadjutor,  from  whose  hands  he  re- 
■ceived  the  last  sacraments  on  the  nth  of  February,  1850, 
and  on   the   evening  of  the  same  day,  without   a  groan  or 

*  Life  of  Bishop  Flaget,  by  Bishop  Spalding,  page  348. 


124  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding.    . 

struggle,  calmly  fell  asleep  in  the  Lord,  like  an  infant  that 
gently  sinks  to  rest  on  the  bosom  of  its  mother. 

Nine    years    before,    the    venerable    Bishop     David,    the 
founder  of    the  seminary  and   of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  in 
Kentucky,  had  passed  away  from  earth,  in  the  eighty-first 
year  of  his  life.     Thus  the  church  of  Kentucky  lost  the  two 
apostolic  men  to  whom  she  owed  more  than  to  all  others. 
They  had  run  their  course,  they  had  kept  the  faith,  and  the 
just  Judge  had  prepared  for  them  the  crown  of  glory.     Not 
only  were  they  great  priests,  but  they  were  also  noble  and 
generous-hearted  men,  full  of  human  sympathy  and  tender 
affection.     They  loved  their  priests  and  their  people,  and  in 
turn   received   from'  them   the   tribute    of   unbounded   filial 
devotion.     To  them  the  clergy  of  Kentucky  are  indebted 
for  that  spirit  of  obedience  and  self-sacrifice  which  has  now 
become  with  them  a  tradition  ;  and  from  them  her  people 
learned    to  associate  the  priestly   character  with  all  that  is- 
highest  and  worthiest  of  veneration.     One  of  the  greatest 
services  that  Bishop  Spalding  could  have  rendered  to  reli- 
gion in  his  native  State,  was  to  embalm  the  sacred  memories- 
of  these  saintly  men,  as  he  has  done  in  his  Sketches  of  Ken- 
tucky and  his  Life  of  Bishop  Flagct.     Though  not  yet  a  cen- 
tury old,  the  church  which  they  founded  has  memories  and 
examples   of  heroic  virtue  which    can    never  be  forgotten. 
Whilst  these  patriarchs  presided  over  its  destinies.  Bishop 
David  was  its  head,  Bishop  Flaget  its  heart.     In  his  biogra- 
phical notice  of  Bishop  David,  whom  he  calls  the  Father  of 
the  Clergy  of  the  West,  Dr.  Spalding  says :  "  Sincerity  and 
candor  in  all  things  were  perhaps  the  most  distinctive  traits- 
in  his  character.     He  was  what  he  appeared  to  be.     He  had 
less  of  human  respect  than  is  usually  found  among  men.    He- 
always  told  you  plainly  what  he  thought  ;  and  you  might 
rely  upon  the  sincerity  of  his  opinion  as  much  as  upon  the 
soundness  of  his  judgment.     He  was  also,  as  we  have  already^ 


State  of  the  Diocese.  125 

remarked,  entirely  consistent  with  his  principles.  If  he 
taught  prompt  obedience  in  others,  he  always  practised  it 
himself,  no  matter  how  much  pain  it  cost  him  ;  and  this 
even  after  he  had  been  consecrated  bishop.  If  he  was  some- 
what rigid  towards  others,  he  was  much  more  stern  with  re- 
gard to  himself,  never  seeking  to  impose  upon  others  a  burden 
which  his  own  shoulders  were  not  ready  cheerfully  to  bear." 

Bishop  Spalding  entered  upon  the  administration  of  the 
diocese,  which  at  that  time  embraced  the  whole  State  of 
Kentucky,  under  not  unfavorable  auspices.  The  Jesuits, 
who  had  taken  charge  of  St.  Mary's  College  in  1832,  had  left 
the  diocese  in  1846,  having  been  invited  by  the  Bishop  of 
New  York  to  a  more  extensive  field  of  labor.  This  was,  at 
the  time,  the  occasion  of  some  inconvenience  to  the  Bishop, 
who  was  compelled  to  withdraw  priests  from  the  missions  in 
order  to  place  them  in  charge  of  St.  Mary's.  St.  Joseph's 
College,  too,  was  under  the  control  of  secular  priests,  and 
the  Bishop  felt  that  he  was  unable  to  supply  two  such  insti- 
tutions with  professors  from  the  clergy  of  his  diocese  ;  and 
he  therefore  determined  to  engage  some  religious  order  to 
take  charge  of  either  the  one  or  the  other  of  these  colleges. 
With  this  view,  negotiations  were  entered  into  with  the 
Jesuits  of  the  vice-province  of  St.  Louis,  which  were  soon 
brought  to  a  successful  termination,  and  they  re-entered  the 
diocese  and  assumed  the  management  of  St.  Joseph's  Col- 
lege in  the  same  month  in  which  Bishop  Spalding  was  con- 
secrated. They  at  the  same  time  took  charge  of  the  free 
school  for  boys  in  Louisville,  which  had  been  erected  two 
years  before,  under  the  superintendence  of  Dr."  Spalding, 
who  was  then  the  Vicar-General. 

A  college  was  built  on  a  lot  adjoining  the  free  school,  and 
into  these  two  institutions  over  three  hundred  boys  were  soon 
gathered,  and  placed  under  the  judicious  and  enlightened 
training  of  the  fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus. 


126  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

Late  in  December,  three  months  after  the  consecration 
of  Dr.  Spalding,  there  arrived  in  Kentucky  a  colony  of 
Trappists,  from  Melleray,  in  France. 

Members  of  this  austere  order  who  had  been  driven  from 
their  homes  by  the  French  Revolution,  had  come  to  America 
as  early  as  1804,  and  had  established  themselvej  at  Pigeon 
Hill,  near  Conewago,  in  Pennsylvania.  Having  remained 
there  little  more  than  a  year,  they  removed  to  Kentucky  in 
the  fall  of  1805,  and  erected  a  temporary  convent  near  the 
church  of  Holy  Cross.  This,  too,  they  abandoned  in  1808, 
on  account  of  the  climate,  which  did  not  permit  them  to 
practise  the  austerities  required  by  their  rule. 

From  Kentucky  they  went  to  Florissant,  near  St.  Louis, 
which  they  left  at  the  end  of  a  year,  and  established  them- 
selves on  a  farm  in  Illinois,  lying  on  the  Mississippi  River, 
about  six  miles  above  St.  Louis.  But  the  malaria  of  this 
region  made  their  new  home  even  more  unhealthy  than 
those  which  they  had  abandoned,  and,  religious  freedom 
having  in  the  meantime  been  proclaimed  in  France,  the 
General  of  the  order,  in  181 3,  recalled  them  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  convents  from  which  they  had  been  driven. 

The  colony  which  came  to  Kentucky  in  1848  was  the 
second  attempt  to  establish  the  order  in  this  country.  The 
threatening  aspect  of  the  political  situation  in  Europe  had 
made  them  fearful  that  they  should  be  again  driven  from 
France,  and  they  therefore  determined  to  seek,  in  the  forests- 
of  the  far  West,  an  asylum  where  they  would  be  permitted 
to  practise  the  divine  counsels  of  the  Saviour  in  security 
and  peace. 

They  purchased  of  the  Sisters  of  Loretto  the  convent 
and  fariT  of  Gethsemane,  lying  about  fourteen  miles  south- 
east of  Bardstown,  and  near  the  spot  where  their  brethren 
had  settled  in  1805.  This  second  establishment,  as  we  shall, 
see,  proved  to  be  more  fortunate  thar.  ilic  fyst. 


State  of  the  Diocese.  12  7 

Bishop  Spalding  considered  it  a  special  privilege  to  have 
in  his  diocese  these  holy  men,  whose  lives  are  so  entirely  con- 
secrated to  the  perfect  observance  of  all  that  is  most  exalted 
in  the  religion  of  Christ.  He  looked  upon  them  as  living  wit- 
nesses to  the  divine  and  supernatural  power  of  Catholic  faith  ; 
for  the  perennial  presence  of  Christ,  and  the  perpetual  in- 
dwelling of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  church,  are  not  perceived 
in  this  alone  that  she  teaches  a  true  doctrine,  but  the  di\-ine 
action  is  even  more  manifest  in  the  supernatural  lives  of  her 
children.  Christ  must  be  continually  revealed  to  the  world 
in  the  persons  of  those  who  love  him.  His  purity,  his  hu- 
mility, his  charity,  his  gentleness,  his  compassion  for  the 
sinful,  his  sympathy  with  the  poor  and  the  oppressed,  his 
spirit  of  prayer  and  self-denial,  his  passion  and  death,  must 
all  be  perpetuated  in  the  lives  of  his  saints  with  the  same 
truth  with  which  his  divine  countenance  was  impressed  on 
the  napkin  of  Veronica. 

His  life  was  one  of  perfect  chastity.  Born  of  a  virgin,  he 
himself  remained  ever  a  virgin,  and  though  he  alone  has 
consecrated  marriage,  and  given  to  it  the  sanctifying  and 
civilizing  power  which  has  been  so  fruitful  of  good  results 
in  Christian  lands,  still  he  taught,  in  language  which  cannot 
be  misunderstood,  that  virginity — perfect  purity  of  life — is 
higher,  nearer  to  God,  than  the  married  state;  and,  there- 
fore, at  least  some  of  the  children  of  the  church  must  lead 
this  life  of  consecrated  chastity,  that  she  may  present  to  the 
world  this  feature  in  the  life  of  her  divine  Founder. 

Christ  was  humble,  being  God — the  Highest ;  he  placed 
himself  beneath  the  feet  of  the  lowest ;  and,  wishing  to 
die  for  the  sins  of  men,  he  chose  that  manner  of  death 
which  was  most  ignominious.  Indeed,  humility  was  neces- 
sarily a  fundamental  feature  in  his  character,  because  with- 
out humility  there  is  no  virtue,  since  without  it  there  is 
no  self-sacrifice.     Pride  is  the  form  of  every  sin,  as  humil- 


128  Life  of  A  jr /lb  is  hop  Spalding. 

ity  is  that  of  all  virtue.  God,  says  Lacordaire,  is  the 
humblest  of  beings.  In  the  church,  then,  must  be  found 
a  few,  at  least,  who  imitate  Christ  in  his  humble,  lowly 
life,  who,  like  him,  descend  from  the  high  places,  shun 
honor  and  renown  and  all  worldly  dignity,  in  order  to  hide 
their  lives  with  him  in  God.  Christ  was  obedient  unto 
death,  yea,  unto  the  death  of  the  cross ;  and  they  who  seek 
to  lead  the  ideal  life  which  he  has  shown  to  the  world,  must 
crucify  their  wills.  Christ,  though  he  knew  no  sin,  yet  led 
a  life  of  penance.  He  fasted,  he  prayed,  he  had  not  whereon 
to  lay  his  head  ;  and  in  his  church  this  life  of  penance  must 
be  perpetually  renewed.  Bishop  Spalding  looked  upon 
these  austere  monks  as  witnesses  to  Christ  in  his  church, 
and  believed  that  their  lives  of  prayer  and  self-abnegation 
would  draw  down  innumerable  blessings  upon  his  diocese. 

Writing  of  them,  two  or  three  years  after  they  had  estab- 
lished themselves  at  Gethsemane,  he  said  : 

"  These  monks  belong  to  the  more  strict  observance  of 
the  Cistercian  institute,  one  of  the  most  austere  religious 
orders  in  the  church.  They  devote  their  lives  to  manual 
labor,  to  perpetual  silence,  to  fasting  and  prayer.  Seven 
hours  of  each  day  are  spent  in  church,  and  as  many  are  given 
to  labor.  They  never  taste  flesh-meat,  fish,  eggs,  or  butter. 
Their  penitential  austerities  seem  incredible  in  this  age  of 
boasted  progress  and  boundless  self-indulgence.  Their  rigor- 
ous lives  astonish  the  worldling,  who  can  appreciate  nothing 
which  does  not  contribute  to  material  progress  and  sensual 
enjoyment ;  whilst  they  are  matter  of  admiration  for  all  true 
Christians  who,  enlightened  by  faith,  are  able  to  estimate 
the  awful  malice  of  sin  and  the  absolute  necessity  of  pen- 
ance. He  who,  himself,  led  a  poor  and  hard  life,  must  look 
down  with  complacency  on  these  pious  recluses,  who,  to  ex- 
piate their  own  and  others'  sins,  devote  themselves,  for  his 
love,  to  this  life  of  privation.     Yet,  in  the  midst  of  their 


State  of  the  Diocese.  129 

labors  and  austerities,  these  good  monks  are  remarkably- 
cheerful  and  happy.  The  peace  of  God,  surpassing  all  un- 
derstanding, beams  constantly  from  their  countenances."* 

Another  great  order  of  the  church,  which  had  been  estab- 
lished in  the  diocese  more  than  forty  years  before  Bishop 
Spalding's  consecration,  was  now  in  a  prosperous  condition. 
The  unrelenting  persecution  of  the  Catholics  in  England 
had  forced  the  English  Dominicans  to  take  refuge  on  the 
Continent  of  Europe.  They  went  to  Belgium,  where  they 
formed  an  English  province  of  their  order,  and  founded  a 
college  at  Bornheim.  But  not  even  there  could  they  find 
peace  and  security.  In  1805,  the  French  Revolution,  which 
upturned  everything  on  the  Continent,  sent  its  vandals  to 
seize  upon  the  college  at  Bornheim.  Those  members  of 
the  order  who  were  not  thrown  into  prison  made  their 
escape  to  England.  Among  these  was  a  young  American 
who,  having  been  sent  to  Europe  to  complete  his  education, 
had  gone  to  Bornheim,  and,  after  finishing  his  studies,  had 
taken  the  habit  of  St.  Dominic.  He  had  been  ordained 
priest,  and  his  genial  nature  and  great  virtue  had  already 
won  for  him  the  love  and  confidence  of  his  brethren.  This 
was  Father  Edward  Fenwick,  a  native  of  Maryland,  and  a 
lineal  descendant  of  the  noble  family  of  Fenwicks,  of  Fen- 
wick Tower,  in  Northumberland.  The  Dominicans,  who 
had  been  driven  from  Belgium,  petitioned  the  General  of 
the  order  for  permission  to  go  to  the  United  States,  the 
native  country  of  Father  Fenwick.  The  request  was  granted, 
and  Father  Fenwick  was  named  Superior.  They  accordingly 
sailed  for  the  United  States,  and,  on  landing,  presented  them- 
selves to  Bishop  Carroll,  the  only  bishop  in  the  American 
Union  at  that  time.  By  his  advice.  Father  Fenwick,  accom- 
panied by  Fathers  Wilson,  Tuite,  and  Anger,  all  English- 

*  Life  of  Bishop  Flaget,  page  344. 


130  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

men,  started  for  the  wild  woods  of  Kentucky  in  the  spring 
of  1806,  there  to  build  up  a  home  for  their  order. 

Father  Fenwick  had  inherited  from  his  parents  quite  a 
rich  patrimony,  and  with  this  he  purchased  a  large  and  fer- 
tile tract  of  land  in  Washington  County,  near  Springfield, 
upon  which  he  established  the  convent  of  St.  Rose,  and  thus 
became  the  founder  of  the  Dominican  order  in  the  United 
States.  In  1809,  Father  Wilson  opened,  near  the  convent^ 
a  college  for  the  education  of  Catholic  youth,  which  he 
placed  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Thomas  of  Aquin.  This 
was  the  first  Catholic  institution  of  learning  in  Kentucky^ 
and  one  of  the  first  in  the  United  States.  The  college 
flourished  for  ten  years,  when  the  founding  of  a  convent  in 
Somerset,  Ohio,  in  18 19,  necessitated  the  withdrawal  of  so 
many  of  the  fathers  that  its  discontinuance  was  deemed 
advisable.  Under  the  shadow  of  St.  Rose,  and  the  foster- 
ing care  of  Father  Wilson  and  Father  Miles,  the  future  first 
Bishop  of  Nashville,  a  sisterhood  of  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Dominic  also  grew  up,  and  soon  sent  forth  branches  to  Ohio 
and  Tennessee.    • 


CHAPTER     XI. 

STATE  OF  THE  DIOCESE,  CONTINUED — BISHOP  SPALDING'S 
FIRST  VISITATION — THE  EARLY  CATHOLICS  OF  KEN- 
TUCKY. 

HE  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Nazareth  and  the  Sisters 
of  Loretto  had  estabhshed  convents  and  aca- 
demies in  various  parts  of  Kentucky,  in  which 
children  of  their  own  sex  were  brought  up  in 
the  knowledge  and  practice  of  whatever  moulds  or  adorns 
the  character  of  the  Christian  woman. 

Bishop  Flaget,  during  his  last  visit  to  F'rance,  was  de- 
tained by  sickness  at  Angers,  where  he  was  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  Sisterhood  of  the  Good  Shepherd.  With 
his  practical  knowledge  of  the  wants  of  the  church  in  this 
country,  he  at  once  perceived  that  the  introduction  of  this 
order  into  the  United  States  would  prove  highly  serviceable 
to  religion  and  morality. 

He  therefore  asked  for  a  sufficient  number  of  Sisters  to 
establish  the  community  in  his  own  diocese.  His  petition 
was  granted,  and  five  Sisters,  representing  five  different 
nationalities,  were  sent  out  to  Louisville  in  the  fall  of  1842. 
This  was  the  first  establishment  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Good 
Shepherd  in  the  United  States.  They  met  with  a  hearty 
welcome,  and  were  placed  in  a  house  on  Eighth  Street, 
which  had  been  bought  for  them  by  the  Bishop  ;  and  their 
convent  was  soon  filled  with  unfortunate  women,  who,  like 
Magdalen,  tired  of  a  life  of  sin,  came  to  seek  forgiveness 
and  peace  at  the  feet  of  Jesus. 

An  ecclesiastical  seminary  had   been   established,  as   we 


132  Life  of  A  7xh b ish op  Spa Iding. 

have  seen,  at  St.  Thomas',  near  Bardstown,  in  181 1,  shortly 
after  the  arrival  of  Bishop  Flaget  in  Kentucky.  In  18 18, 
the  seminary  was  removed  to  Bardstown,  where  it  remained 
till  1848,  when,  the  Jesuits  having  taken  charge  of  the 
college,  the  seminarians  were  sent  for  a  time  to  St.  Mary's, 
and  then  brought  back  to  St.  Thomas'. 

The  Catholic  population  of  the  State,  at  the  time  of  Dr. 
Spalding's  consecration,  was  about  thirty  thousand.  In  the 
diocese  there  were  forty-three  churches  and  ten  chapels, 
served  by  forty  priests.  St.  Vincent's  Orphan  Asylum  for 
girls,  founded  fifteen  years  prior  to  this  date,  by  Mother 
Catharine  Spalding,  was  now  the  home  of  more  than  a 
hundred  orphans.  There  was,  however,  no  asylum  for  boys. 
The  contrast  between  the  well-organized  church  over  which 
Bishop  Spalding  was  now  called  to  rule,  and  that  body  of 
scattered  and  wandering  children  of  the  old  Catholic  colony 
of  St.  Mary's,  whom  Bishop  Flaget  found  when,  not  forty 
years  before,  he  first  entered  the  dark  forests  of  Kentucky — 
where  the  war-whoop  of  the  Indian,  passing  westward,  had 
not  yet  died  out — is  indeed  most  striking.  Then  there  were 
not  more  than  five  thousand  Catholics  in  the  whole  State. 
There  were  but  six  priests  besides  the  Vicar-General,  three 
of  whom  were  Dominicans  ;  and  ten  churches  or  chapels, 
built  of  roughly-hewn  logs.  With  the  exception  of  the 
order  of  St.  Dominic,  there  was  no  religious  society  in  the 
whole  West.  Bishop  Flaget  had  been  obliged  to  remain  in 
Baltimore  for  six  months  after  his  consecration,  for  want  of 
money  to  defray  his  travelling  expenses  to  his  new  diocese, 
and  upon  his  arrival  he  found,  for  the  accommodation  of 
himself  and  the  ecclesiastics  who  had  accompanied  him,  two 
miserable  log-cabins,  sixteen  feet  square,  situated  in  the 
woods,  near  St.  Stephen's.  For  furniture  they  contained  a 
bed,  two  tables,  and  six  chairs,  one  of  the  missionaries 
being  obliged  to  sleep  in  the  garret. 


Bishop  Spalding  s  First  Visitation  133 

But  the  hearty  welcome  with  which  his  children  received 
him,  iind  the  evidences  which  he  beheld  of  their  Hvely  faith, 
more  than  compensated  for  the  privations  which  he  was 
made  to  suffer. 

When  he  arrived  at  St.  Stephen's,  he  found  the  faithful 
kneeling  on  the  grass,  singing  canticles.  The  women  were 
dressed  in  white,  and,  though  it  was  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  many  of  them  were  still  fasting,  with  the  hope 
of  beingr  able  to  receive  communion  from  the  hands  of  the 
Bishop.  Here,  under  the  overshadowing  foliage  of  the 
"  forest  primeval,"  an  altar  had  been  erected,  before  which 
the  Bishop  clothed  himself  in  his  pontifical  robes,  and  then 
proceeded  to  the  rude  chapel,  where  he  took  formal  pos- 
session of  his  diocese,  according  to  the  ceremonies  prescribed 
in  the  Roman  Pontifical. 

After  his  consecration.  Bishop  Spalding  at  once  entered 
upon  the  visitation  of  the  diocese.  His  first  thought  was 
given  to  the  little  children  of  his  flock,  for  whom,  in  imita- 
tion of  his  divine  Master,  he  felt  the  tenderest  and  sincerest 
love.  He  visited  the  schools  and  literary  institutions  under 
his  jurisdiction,  to  manifest  his  great  interest  in  the  cause  of 
Christian  education,  which  he  held  to  be  of  the  most  vital 
importance  both  to  the  progress  of  religion  and  the  welfare 
of  the  country.  He  held  that  there  could  be  no  sound 
morality  without  religion,  and,  since  the  cultivation  of  the 
moral  faculties  enters  of  necessity  into  the  proper  concep- 
tion of  education,  that  there  in  consequence  could  be  no- 
education  in  the  true  sense  without  religion.  "  Education 
without  religion,"  said  he,  "  is  the  body  without  the  soul, 
the  building  without  the  foundation,  philosophy  without 
fundamental  principles.  The  contrary  theory  would  banish 
God,  with  the  hallowing  influence  of  his  divine  government, 
from  his  own  favorite  domain^the  human  soul,  leaving  it 
during  the  most  trying  and  dangerous  period  of  life — that  of 


134  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

youth — to  be  buffeted  at  will  by  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the 
devil.  It  ignores  the  very  starting-point  of  all  sound  instruc- 
tion, the  fountain-source  of  all  true  wisdom."  Having  by 
his  earnestness  and  zeal  reanimated  to  renewed  energy  those 
to  whom  God  had  entrusted  the  education  of  the  children 
of  his  diocese,  he  entered  upon  the  visitation  of  the  parishes 
of  the  State,  some  of  which  had  not  been  blessed  by  the 
presence  of  a  Catholic  Bishop  for  several  years.  He  had 
arranged  to  have  missions  preached  in  the  various  congre- 
gations which  he  was  about  to  visit. 

Already  in  youth,  he  had  learned  from  his  old  professor, 
Bishop  David,  who  seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  introduce 
into  the  church  of  this  country  a  practice  which  has  since 
been  productive  of  the  best  results,  to  attach  great  impor- 
tance to  these  popular  missions,  and  he  had  whilst  a  stu- 
dent in  Rome,  as  we  have  already  seen,  studied  with  a  view 
to  fit  himself  for  this  work.* 

Taking  with  him  two  clergymen  to  assist  in  preaching  the 
missions,  and  in  preparing  the  children  for  first  communion 
and  confirmation,  he  journeyed  on  horseback  from  church  to 
church.  From  the  record  which  was  kept  of  this  his  first 
episcopal  visitation,  I  find  that  he  generally  took  upon  him- 
self the  task  of  instructing  the  children  who  were  preparing 
for  their  first  communion,  without,  however,  confining  him- 
self to  this  work  of  love,  for  he  also  bore  his  share  in  preach- 
ing and  in  hearing  confessions.  At  the  close  of  the  mission 
he  generally  lectured  on  the  doctrines  of  the  church,  espe- 
cially those  to  which  Protestants  most  frequently  objected. 

*The  Relation  addressed  by  the  Jesuits  of  Maryland,  in  1638,  to  the  General 
of  the  order  in  Rome,  says  :  "  By  the  spiritual  exercises  we  have  formed  the 
principal  inhabitants  to  the  practice  of  piety,  and  they  have  derived  signal 
benefits  from  tliem."  Tliis  passage,  however,  it  will  be  perceived,  does  not 
refer  to  popular  missions,  the  introduction  of  which  into  this  country  Arch- 
bishop Spalding  ascribes  to  Bishop  David. 


Bishop  Spaldijig s  First  Visitation,  135 

His  method  in  doing  tills  was  to  state  plainly,  and  to  confirm 
by  sound  arguments,  Catholic  teachings,  without  assuming 
an  aggressive  attitude  towards  Protestantism,  or  giving  to 
his  discourses  a  polemical  character.  "  Kind  persuasion,"  he 
wrote,  "  especially  in  this  country,  goes  much  further  than 
hard  logic.  The  appeal  to  the  heart  is  more  effectual  than 
that  to  the  head  ;    this  I  have  learned  by  long  experience. 

"  In  argument,  principles  rather  than  men  should  be  kept 
•steadily  in  view\  The  spirit  of  Milner's  End  of  Contro- 
■versy  is  admirable  in  this  respect.  Fortiter  in  re,  suaviter 
in  7)iodoy 

The  visitation  was  made,  as  far  as  circumstances  per- 
mitted, in  strict  accordance  with  the  rules  laid  down  in 
the  Pontifical.  He  examined  minutely  into  both  the  tem- 
poral and  spiritual  administration  of  each  parish,  and,  after 
consulting  with  the  pastor,  made  such  regulations  as  the 
welfare  of  the  faithful  seemed  to  demand.  Nothing  es- 
caped his  attention.  The  deeds  of  property  belonging  to 
the  church  were  looked  over,  and,  when  any  flaw  was  dis- 
covered, it  was  corrected.  In  various  places,  he  found  that 
the  churches  and  cemeteries  had  never  been  blessed,  and 
the  defect  was  of  course  remedied.  The  necessity  of 
■establishing  Catholic  schools  where  they  did  not  as  yet 
exist  was  always  insisted  upon.  In  his  instructions  to  the 
people,  he  never  failed  to  exhort  them  to  cultivate  a  tender 
devotion  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  the  glorious  Queen  of  Hea- 
ven and  the  special  Patroness  of  the  church  in  the  United 
States,  and  to  this  end  he  recommended  the  immediate 
■establishment  among  them  of  the  Archconfratcrnity  of  the 
Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary,  for  the  conversion  of  sinners. 
In  places  where  there  are  now  well-organized  congregations, 
lie  found  only  a  few  isolated  Catholic  families.  The  good 
effect  of  the  missions  was  specially  manifest.  Faith  and 
piety  revived,  night  and  morning  family  prayer  was  intro- 


136  Life  of  Aj'chbishop  Spalding, 

duced,  scandals  ceased,  persons  who  had  remained  away 
from  the  sacraments  for  years  sought  forgiveness  in  the 
tribunal  of  penance,  and  the  entire  Catholic  population  was 
renewed  in  spirit.  Many  Protestants,  too,  were  received 
into  the  church — thirteen  out  of  every  hundred  confirmed 
being  converts. 

The  pew  system  had  not  at  that  time  been  introduced 
into  the  church  in  Kentucky,  at  least  outside  of  Louisville,, 
and,  according  to  a  time-honored  custom,  the  men  sat  on 
one  side  of  the  aisle,  whilst  the  other  was  reserved  for  the 
women.  This  division  of  the  sexes  was  also  observed  in 
the  solemn  procession  which  the  Bishop  always  made  to 
the  graveyard,  in  order  to  say  the  prayers  for  the  dead,  as 
prescribed  in  the  Roman  Pontifical.  The  men  and  boys 
marched  first,  then  came  the  women  and  girls,  and  the 
procession  was  closed  by  the  clergy,  followed  by  the  Bishop. 
In  places  where  there  were  a  considerable  number  of  Ca- 
tholics but  no  church,  or  one  too  small  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  people,  he  took  measures  to  have  a  suitable 
house  of  worship  built  at  once.  Subscription-lists  were 
opened,  and,  in  several  instances,  sufficient  money  for  the 
purpose  was   obtained   on   the  spot. 

Many  of  the  wealthier  Catholics  owned  slaves,  who  at- 
tended the  missions  with  their  masters,  kneeling  alongside 
of  them  at  the  confessional  and  before  the  altar  to  receive 
holy  communion.  The  simple,  Christian  life  of  the  Catho- 
lics in  Kentucky  in  those  days,  which  are  gone  away  never 
more  to  return,  ought  not  to  be  forgotten.  Not  in  Ireland 
or  Tyrol  or  Brittany  was  there  a  more  confiding  or  child- 
like faith  in  all  that  Christ  teaches  through  the  church,  than 
amongst  those  descendants  of  the  old  Catholic  colony. 
They  were  Kentuckians,  with  the  frank  and  open  manli- 
ness of  character  which  distinguished  their  fellow-country- 
men ;  they  had  that  naive  and  boundless  faith  in  republican 


Habits  of  the  Eaidy  Catholics  of  Kciitzicky.     137 

institutions,  combined  with  unspeakable  contempt  for  what 
they  considered  the  effete  and  corrupt  governments  of 
Europe,  which  belonged  pecuharly  to  the  American  cha- 
racter before  any  great  sorrow  had  tried  our  people,  taking 
from  them  the  freshness  of  hopes  undeceived,  the  bright- 
ness of  illusions  whose  unreality  misfortune  had  not  taught 
them.  The  flag  that  floated  over  them  was  in  their  eyes 
the  emblem  of  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  the  race — the 
harbinger  of  a  dawn  compared  with  which  the  bright- 
ness of  past  civilization  would  be  but  night.  Never  have 
I  known  a  feeling  of  more  intense  love  of  freedom,  and 
devotion  to  all  the  principles  which  secure  it,  than  that 
which  was  found  amongst  those  Catholics  of  Kentucky. 
And  yet  the  old,  old  church,  which  had  existed  in  the 
beginning,  whose  pathway  through  the  ages  was  marked 
by  the  wrecks  of  time  and  human  passions,  which  had 
lived  everywhere,  in  the  north  and  in  the  south,  in  the 
furthest  east  and  the  remotest  west,  whose  home  had  been 
in  the  palaces  of  kings,  in  the  great  cities  of  the  world,  and 
m  the  tents  of  the  wandering  and  warlike  barbarian — before 
whose  beauty  and  majesty  the  princes  of  the  earth  had 
bowed  down,  and  the  rude  savage,  against  whose  strength 
.had  risen  up  time  and  again  men  of  power  and  men  of 
mind,  only  to  fall  broken  like  the  mad  waves  of  the  ocean 
that  dash  against  the  rock-bound  coast — this  noble  old 
church  was  their  mother — the  mother  of  their  souls,  to 
whom  they  turned  with  a  love  and  devotion  intensified  by 
the  memory  of  how  their  fathers  had  clung  to  her  through 
long  ages,  until,  when  it  had  become  a  crime  to  love  her 
in  their  own  land,  they  sought  the  new  world  that  God  had 
opened  to  them,  and  there  made  for  her  a  home,  and  built  to 
her  an  altar,  and  with  those  same  Catholic  hands  built  an 
altar  to  freedom.  The  church  has  never  had  more  submis- 
sive or  obedient  children  than  they  were. 


138  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

In  settling  in  Kentucky,  they  had  frequently  chosen  the 
less  fertile  portions  of  the  State  because  a  church  or  chapel 
had  been  built  there.  Indeed,  at  one  time,  as  I  have  else- 
where stated,  many  of  the  early  Catholic  colonists  thought 
seriously  of  removing  to  Missouri,  as  it  seemed  impossi- 
ble to  get  missionaries  to  come  to  Kentucky.  They  were 
not  deterred  from  the  practice  of  their  religion  by  trifles. 
Men  and  women  would  ride  ten  or  fifteen  miles  over  the 
roughest  roads  to  hear  Mass,  and  would  remain  fasting  till 
twelve  or  one  o'clock  to  be  able  to  receive  holy  communion. 
Their  reverence  for  the  priestly  character  was  unbounded. 
There  were  no  schisms,  no  disputes  with  trustees,  no  con- 
tentions about  church  property,  no  rebellions  of  congrega- 
tions against  their  priests  or  bishop.  Never  did  a  father 
receive  truer  love  in  the  bosom  of  his  own  family  than  that 
which  was  given  to  Bishop  Flaget,  yea,  and  to  Bishop 
David  and  to  Father  Nerincks  and  to  Father  Badin,  by  the 
-Catholic  people  of  Kentucky.  To  others  they  might  be  for- 
eigners, men  of  different  race  and  of  another  tongue,  but  to 
them  they  were  fathers  most  beloved  and  most  dear.  The 
nationality  of  the  priest  was  a  matter  of  indifference  ;  they 
•scarcely  thought  of  it ;  he  was  simply  the  minister  of  God. 
His  actions  were  not  misconstrued;  he  was  not  surrounded 
by  men  anxious  to  spy  out  and  detect  his  faults.  Even  as 
a  child  thinks  his  father  perfect,  so  those  early  Catholics 
thought  their  priests  were  saints  ;  and  some  of  them  were, 
in  truth.  They  were  not  a  straitlaced  race.  They  were 
hospitable,  and  loved  enjoyment,  and  were  never  better 
pleased  than  when  they  saw  the  happy  and  the  light-hearted 
around  them.  Frequently  they  would  assemble,  and  whilst 
the  young  engaged  in  the  simple  country-dance,  the  old 
looked  on  or  talked  of  other  days.  Father  Badin,  who, 
though  the  best  of  men,  was  not  wholly  free  from  certain 
rigid  notions  that  remind  one  of  the  period  when  in  some 


Habits  of  the  Early  Catholics  of  Kentucky.     139 

•parts  of  France  Jansenistic  ideas  entered  largely  into  clerical 
training,  delighted  to  be  present  on  these  occasions.  When- 
ever he  could  learn  that  an  entertainment  was  to  be  given, 
he  made  it  a  point  to  come  in  unexpectedly  when  the  enjoy- 
ment was  at  its  height.  When  he  entered  the  room,  all 
understood  the  meaning  of  his  presence,  and  resigned  them- 
:selves  with  great  composure  to  what  seemed  to  them  the 
inevitable.  He  had  heard,  he  would  say,  of  their  social 
gathering,  and,  fearing  lest  they  should  forget  their  night 
prayers,  had  come  to  say  them  in  their  good  company.  All 
would  then  kneel  down,  and  Father  Badin  would  proceed  to 
give  out  prayers  for  an  hour  or  two,  until  his  devotion  was 
satisfied,  and  then  he  would  dismiss  the  gathering,  saying  it 
■was  time  they  were  all  in  bed.  And  yet  such  was  their  rev- 
erence for  the  priestly  character  that  no  one  rebelled  or  even 
complained.  Though  there  was  no  great  choice  of  food, 
still  the  days  of  abstinence  and  fast  were  invariably  kept  in 
strict  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  the  church.  The 
pious  custom  of  saying  family  prayers,  night  and  morn- 
ing, existed  very  generally;  and  when  the  head  of  the  house 
•owned  slaves,  they  too  were  required  to  be  present  at  these 
-devotions.  All  knelt  together  in  the  same  room,  and  the 
father  or  the  mother  of  the  family  gave  out  the  prayer,  and 
the  others  answered. 

Before  or  after  these  exercises  the  master  would  frequently 
•enter  into  conversation  with  his  slaves,  enquiring  concerning 
the  health  of  this  one  or  the  occupations  of  another.  The 
condition  of  the  plantation,  the  prospect  of  the  harvest, 
the  proper  management  of  the  stock,  were  discussed  in  a 
familiar  and  unrestrained  manner,  the  master  sometimes 
giving  directions  and  sometimes  receiving  advice.  Between 
the  Catholic  masters  and  their  slaves  there  most  generally 
.existed  real  sympathy  and  affection. 

Not  to  defend  or  regret  a  state  of  things,  which  happily 


140  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

has  passed  away  for  ever,  do  I  mention  these  facts,  but 
simply  to  show  how  the  influence  of  true  rehgion  tends  tO' 
refine  and  soften  man  even  in  those  relations  of  life  which 
seem  fitted  only  to  render  him  harsh  and  unfeeling.  I  doubt 
if  the  relations  of  master  and  servant,  when  so  little  con- 
trolled by  law,  or  even  by  public  opinion,  have  ever  any- 
where been  more  paternal  or  just  than  among  the  Catholic 
slave-owners  of  Kentucky. 

The  faith  and  earnestness  of  the  early  Catholics  of  our 
State  are  manifest,  too,  in  the  number  of  religious  institu- 
tions which  grew  up  among  them,  and  which  still  exist. 
No  body  of  native  Catholics  of  equal  numbers  in  this  coun- 
try 4ias  ever,  I  think,  produced  so  many  vocations  to  the 
priesthood  and  to  the  religious  life  as  were  found  in  Ken- 
tucky from  1 8 10  to  1830.  The  colleges,  academies,  and 
schools  which  they  co-operated  in  founding,  testify  to  their 
interest  in  the  cause  of  education.  Some  of  the  first  Prot- 
estant gentlemen  of  Kentucky  and  of  Louisiana  and  Missis- 
sippi were  educated  in  our  colleges. 

The  Catholics  of  Kentucky,  and  those  of  Maryland  as 
well,  have  been  accused,  and  not  without  justice,  of  want  of 
generosity  in  the  pecuniary  support  which  they  gave  their 
priests.  Without  seeking  in  any  way  to  extenuate  this 
fault,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  examine  into  the  causes  to 
which  it  is  attributable.  For  nearly  a  century  and  a  half 
from  the  arrival  of  Lord  Baltimore  in  1634,  down  to  the  War 
of  Independence,  the  faith  was  preserved  among  the  Catho- 
lics of  Maryland  by  the  Jesuits,  who  were,  with  possibly  a 
few  exceptions,  the  only  priests  in  the  colony — noble  and 
disinterested  men,  whose  praise  is  still  in  the  church,  and 
whose  memory  will  never  be  forgotten  by  the  descendants 
of  those  to  whom  they  secured  the  most  priceless  of  all  gifts. 
Land-grants  had  been  made  to  the  early  Jesuit  mission- 
aries of  Maryland  on  the  same  terms  as  to  the  other  colo- 


Habits  of  the  Early  Catholics  of  Kentucky.      141 

nists.  The  compact  between  Lord  Baltimore  and  the  colo- 
nists, entitled  "  Conditions  of  plantation,"  gave  for  a  nominal 
consideration,  to  every  settler  who  brought  with  him  five 
able-bodied  laborers,  two  thousand  acres  of  land.  The 
Indian  kings  also,  whom  the  missionaries  had  converted, 
made  gratuitous  concessions  of  land  to  the  church. 

Ample  provision  was  thus  made  for  the  support  of  the 
fathers,  who,  leading  the  rugged  lives  of  travelling  mission- 
aries, needed  but  little.  The  circumstances  in  which  the 
early  colonists  were  placed  did  not  call  for  orphan  asylums, 
hospitals,  and  other  institutions  of  benevolence,  the  need  of 
which  is  the  result  of  the  overcrowding  of  the  poorer  and 
laboring  classes  in  the  great  centres  of  commerce.  The 
church  edifices,  too,  were  rude  and  simple  structures,  put 
up  without  great  expense. 

Indeed,  in  1704  a  law  was  passed  entitled  "An  act  to 
prevent  the  increase  of  popery  in  the  province,"  which  for- 
bade bishops  and  priests  to  say  Mass,  or  exercise  any  other 
functions  of  their  ministry.  This  law,  which  remained  in 
force  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution,  rendered 
all  further  building  of  churches  impracticable.  The  Jesuits, 
however,  succeeded  in  retaining  possession  of  their  lands 
and  servants,  and  consequently  needed  nothing  for  their 
own  support. 

On  the  contrary,  they  were  able  to  offer  hospitality  to 
their  people,  and  in  the  lower  counties  of  Maryland,  Catho- 
lics who  came  fasting  from  a  distance,  in  order  to  receive 
holy  communion,  frequently  dined  with  the  good  fathers. 
So  little  did  the  Maryland  Jesuits  stand  in  need  of  the  tem- 
poral goods  of  their  people,  that  they  were  themselves  able 
to  give  pecuniary  assistance  to  the  missions  of  Pennsylvania, 
as  we  learn  from  a  letter  of  the  Provincial  in  England,  writ- 
ten in  April,  1759- 

Thus,  durmg   the  entire    Colonial   period,  the   Catholics 


142  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

of  Maryland  were  placed  in  circumstances  which  rendered 
generosity  towards  the  church,  if  not  impossible,  at  least 
unnecessary,  and  often  unwise;  and,  from  long  habit,  they 
had  come  to  look  upon  the  church  as  self-sustaining,  and 
the  priest  as  a  man  who  wanted  nothing,  at  least  from  them. 
The  history  of  the  church  everywhere  proves  that  her 
people  will  not  be  generous,  unless  this  quality  be  culti- 
vated in  them.  The  Maryland  Catholics  who  went  to  Ken- 
tucky at  the  close  of  the  last  century  carried  with  them  the 
result  of  habits  which  the  growth  of  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  had  made  a  second  nature.  And,  unfortunately,  the 
circumstances  in  which  they  were  placed  in  their  new  home 
were  scarcely  more  favorable  to  the  cultivation  of  a  spirit 
of  generosity  than  those  in  which  their  fathers  had  lived. 
For  years  they  had,  for  the  most  part,  to  struggle  with 
poverty,  and  all  the  difficulties  which  a  new  country  opposes 
to  those  who  seek  to  bring  it  into  subjection.  For  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  they  had  but  three  or  four  priests, 
whom  they  rarely  saw,  because  their  missions  extended  not 
only  over  Kentucky,  but  over  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois.. 
When,  at  length,  priests  began  to  reside  permanently 
among  them,  they  generally  chose  as  their  home  one  or 
other  of  the  convents  that  had  grown  up,  where  they  lived 
without  great  expense.  When,  finally,  the  diocese  was- 
formed,  and  the  more  perfect  organization  of  the  parishes 
demanded  that  the  priest  should  reside  near  the  church  and 
be  supported  by  the  people,  it  was  but  natural  that  they 
should  be  somewhat  slow  in  conforming  to  a  state  of  things 
so  different  from  their  whole  past  experience.  The  priests 
themselves  did  not  at  first  seem  to  comprehend  the  situa- 
tion, or  to  understand  exactly  how  to  act.  They  insisted, 
from  the  pulpit,  on  the  manifest  duty  of  Catholics  in  this 
respect,  but  failed  to  adopt  a  plan  which  would  divide  the 
burden  proportionately  among  all,  and  thus  approve  itself 


Habits  of  tJic  Ecwly  Catholics  of  Kentucky.      143 

to  the  common  sense  of  the  people.  The  more  generous 
Catholics  responded  to  these  appeals,  whilst  the  greater 
number  continued  to  act  as  though  they  thought  it  were 
simply  absurd  that  a  priest  should  want  money.  That 
which  had  been  found  necessary  elsewhere,  even  in  the 
large  cities,  and  amongst  the  most  generous  people  in  the 
world,  was  finally  adopted  here;  and  the  renting  of  pews 
has  in  all,  except  the  poorest,  congregations  of  Kentucky, 
secured  to  the  priest  a  competent  support. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

RETREAT  OF  THE  CLERGY — BUILDING  OF  THE  CATHE- 
DRAL IN  LOUISVILLE — DIVISION  OF  THE  DIOCESE — THE 
FIRST  PLENARY  COUNCIL  OF  BALTIMORE — DESIRE  TO 
SECURE   THE   SERVICES   OF  A   TEACHING   BROTHERHOOD. 

ISHOP  SPALDING,  after  returning  from  his  first 
visitation  of  the  diocese,  assembled  his  priests  at 
St.  Thomas',  that  they  might  enter  into  a  spiri- 
tual retreat.  He  preached  this  retreat  himself, 
and  one  of  the  most  venerable  clergymen  of  Kentucky  has 
told  me  that  it  was  in  these  days  of  prayer  and  meditation 
that  he  first  perceived  Bishop  Spalding's  practical  knowl- 
edge of  human  nature  and  power  of  governing  men,  though 
he  had  long  known  him  intimately. 

Not  to  grow  in  intellectual  vigor  and  force  of  character 
with  increase  of  authority  and  higher  position,  is  evidence 
of  irremediable  mediocrity ;  whereas,  men  who  have  real 
merit,  as  they  are  advanced  in  place  develop  qualities  which 
had  escaped  the  notice  of  even  the  observant.  All  who 
knew  Dr.  Spalding  agreed  that  he  had  talent,  that  he  was 
laborious  and  zealous  ;  but  his  gentle  nature  and  simple 
manners  had  led  some  to  imagine  that  he  did  not  possess 
those  sterner  qualities  required  for  the  government  of  men 
and  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  work  of  a  young  and 
growing  diocese. 

Indeed,  to  be  a  successful  bishop  in  this  country,  one 
should  be  a  many-sided  man,  fruitful  in  resources,  and  en- 
dowed with  exhaustless  latent  force.  The  very  great  power 
which    the    organization    of   the    church   here   gives   to   the 


Retreat  of  the  Clergy.  145 

bishop,  renders  him,  in  a  measure,  responsible  for  the  entire 
working  of  the  diocese.  In  the  old  Catholic  countries  of 
Europe,  a  bishop  has  simply  to  keep  the  machinery  of 
ecclesiastical  government  moving.  Everything  is  determined 
and  regulated  by  law,  and  little  is  left  to  the  initiative  of 
the  man.  But  here  he  has  to  organize  and  create  ;  and,  what 
is  often  more  difficult,  to  harmonize  the  many  conflicting 
elements  which  are  at  work  within  our  young  and  grow- 
ing church.  To  him,  every  difficulty,  whether  theological, 
financial,  or  personal,  is  referred  in  the  last  instance  ;  and, 
in  addition  to  this,  the  physical  labor  which  he  is  forced  to 
do  is  of  itself  exhausting. 

It  is  expected  that  he  should  be  the  best  theologian,  the 
most  eloquent  preacher,  the  most  reliable  financier,  the 
safest  counsellor  both  in  spiritual  and  temporal  matters, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  most  slavish  worker  in  the  diocese. 
To  demand  of  a  man  that  he  should  know  everything  and 
be  able  to  do  everything  better  than  anybody  else,  is  rather 
exacting.  But  those  who  doubted  Bishop  Spalding's  ability 
to  govern  a  diocese,  were  not  sceptical  after  this  retreat. 
He  had  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  priests,  and  had 
shown  them  that  he  had  a  perfect  understanding  of  what 
was  to  be  done,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  it  should  be 
done. 

He  had  won  both  their  confidence  and  their  affection. 
During  the  three  last  days  of  the  retreat,  public  conferences 
were  held,  in  which  questions  of  practical  importance,  re- 
lating to  the  administration  of  the  sacraments  and  other 
sacerdotal  duties,  were  discusssed  ;  and  finally,  the  priests 
were  assembled  in  informal  synod,  to  give  their  advice  on 
certain  points  which  were  to  form  the  basis  of  the  diocesan 
statutes. 

These  meetings  were  most  satisfactory  to  all,  and  the  re- 
sult was  harmony  of  action  and  mutual  good  understanding 


146  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

amongst  the  priests  of  the  diocese,  who  felt  assured  and  en- 
couraged from  having  learned  that  he  who  was  to  direct 
them  would  himself  be  guided  only  by  counsels  of  wisdom 
and  prudence. 

Shortly  after  the  close  of  this  retreat,  a  most  successful 
mission  was  given  to  the  congregation  of  the  cathedral  in 
Louisville,  which  was  at  the  time  the  only  church  in  the 
city  for  the  English-speaking  Catholic  population.  The 
number  of  those  who  received  communion  was  nine  hun- 
dred and  thirty-four.  At  no  previous  mission  had  there 
been  half  so  many.  There  were  also  two  German  churches 
in  the  city :  St.  Boniface,  which  had  been  built  several  years 
before,  and  the  Immaculate  Conception,  which  Bishop 
Spalding  had  dedicated  a  short  time  after  his  consecration. 
In  these  two  congregations  there  were  about  two  thousand 
communicants,  making  the  total  number  for  the  whole  city 
only  three  thousand,  which,  however,  is  not  so  small  when 
we  consider  that  in  1825  there  were  but  fifty. 

Ever  solicitous  for  the  children  of  his  flock.  Bishop  Spal- 
ding felt  the  urgent  want  of  an  orphan  asylum  for  boys. 
The  fact  of  there  being  already  a  hundred  orphans  in  the 
asylum  founded  by  Mother  Catharine  for  girls,  was  of  itself 
evidence  that  many  orphans  of  the  other  sex  were  left  un- 
provided for.  He  therefore  took  steps  to  establish  an  asy- 
lum at  St.  Thomas',  which  was  opened  in  1850  with  ten 
orphans,  the  number  steadily  increasing  until  it  reached  one 
hundred  and  fifty. 

An  association,  entitled  the  St.  Joseph's  Orphan  Society, 
was  organized  about  the  same  time,  with  a  view  to  form  an 
asylum  for  the  children  of  German  parents,  though  in  the 
original  constitution  it  was  stipulated  that  one-third  of 
the  inmates  might  be  of  Irish  or  American  parentage.  A 
building,  known  as  the  Old  Seminary,  adjoining  the  church 
of  the   Immaculate   Conception,  was  bought,  and   the  St. 


Building  of  the  Cathedral  in  Louisville.      147 

Joseph's  and  the  St.  Thomas's  Orphan  Asylums  opened  the 
same  year,  and  have  both  been  the  means  of  preserving  the 
faith  and  virtue  of  hundreds  of  helpless  children. 

The  old  cathedral  in  Louisville,  which  had  originally  been 
built  for  a  parish  church,  when  Bardstovvn  was  yet  the  see 
of  the  diocese,  was  not  only  too  small  for  the  rapidly  grow- 
ing congregation,  but  was  also  unfitted  to  the  right  perfor- 
mance of  the  solemn  and  imposing  functions  of  the  episcopal 
ceremonial.     Bishop  Spalding,  therefore,  resolved  to  begin 
as  soon  as  possible  the  erection  of  a  cathedral  which  would 
not  be  unworthy  of  the  Catholics  of  Kentucky.      The  vote 
of  the  congregation  was  taken  as  to  the  site  of  the  contem- 
plated edifice,  and  the  majority  were  in  favor  of  building  it 
on  the  spot  where  the  old  church  stood.     The  location  was 
central,  and,  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  was  hallowed  by 
many  religious  associations.     The  lot,  too,  was  large,  with  a 
greater  depth  than  any  other  that  could  have  been  found  in  art 
eligible  portion  of  the  city.     This  having  been  agreed  upon, 
a  meetincf  was  held  in  the  basement  of  the  old  church  in  the 
spring  of    1849,   ^^^  ^^^^  purpose  of  raising  funds  to  begin 
work.     Bishop  Spalding,  who  presided,  opened  the  subscrip- 
tion with  ten  thousand  dollars  ;    and  the  Catholics  of  the 
city,    encouraged    by    his    generous    example,    contributed 
liberally.      He    then    called    upon    the    principal    Catholics 
throughout  the   diocese,  who   also   responded   with    gener- 
osity to  his  appeal.     The  style  of  architecture  chosen  was 
the  Gothic.     The  cathedral  was  to  be  two  hundred  and  ten 
feet  in  length  by  about  ninety  in  width,  with  a  clere-story, 
supported  by  a  row  of  graceful  columns  on  each  side  of  the 
main   aisle,   and   surmounted    by   a    tower   whose   beautiful 
spire  should  rise  to  a  height  of  two  hundred  and  eighty-five 
feet  above  the  ground,  lifting  the  cross  of  Christ  above  the 
whole  city  and  surrounding  countrj^     The  corner-stone  was 
laid  on  the  Feast  of  the  Assumption,  the   15th  of  August, 


148  Life  of  Ai'chbishop  Spalding. 

1849,  "^  ^1^^  presence  of  an  immense  concourse  of  people. 
The  venerable  Bishop  Flaget,  who  was  too  feeble  to  be 
able  to  assist  in  the  ceremony,  overlooked  the  scene  from  a 
balcony  of  his  residence,  and,  at  the  close,  invoked  the 
blessing  of  heaven  on  the  beginning  of  a  work  the  comple- 
tion of  which  he  was  not  destined  to  see. 

Under  the  special  supervision  and  management  of  the 
Very  Rev.  B.  J.  Spalding,  to  whose  good  sense  and  sound 
judgment  the  Bishop  in  this,  as  in  many  other  things,  was 
greatly  indebted,  the  work  was  pushed  vigorously  forward, 
and  on  the  Feast  of  the  Most  Holy  Rosary,  October  3, 
1852,  the  new  cathedral  was  solemnly  consecrated  to  the 
service  and  worship  of  God,  in  the  presence  of  two  arch- 
bishops, eight  bishops,  one  mitred  abbot,  and  over  forty 
priests.  The  Archbishop  of  Cincinnati  performed  the  cere- 
mony of  the  dedication,  and  Dr.  McCloskey,  the  present 
Archbishop  of  New  York,  preached  in  the  morning,  and  the 
Archbishop  of  St.  Louis  in  the  evening. 

On  the  morning  after  the  dedication,  the  remains  of  Bishop 
Flaget  were  solemnly  translated,  and  deposited  in  a  crypt 
beneath  the  high  altar  of  the  cathedral.  "  The  relics  of  a 
saint,"  said  Bishop  Spalding,  "  reposing  in  the  crypt  of  our 
cathedral,  God  will  not  fail  to  bless  us." 

The  total  cost  of  the  cathedral — in  the  building  of  which 
the  strictest  economy,  even  in  the  minutest  details  of  the 
work,  was  observed — was  seventy-five  thousand  dollars.  The 
debt  was  soon  paid,  with  the  exception  of  eight  thousand 
dollars  belonging  to  the  seminary  fund,  which  was  invested 
in  the  cathedral,  with  the  condition  of  the  semi-annual  pay- 
ment of  the  interest. 

The  bell,  which  weighs  4,500  lbs.,  and  which  cost  twelve 
hundred  dollars,  was  the  generous  gift  of  Mgr.  La  Bastida, 
Archbishop  of  Mexico,  who  christened  it  La  Ptirissiina. 
In    1858,  a  clock,  made  by  Blin,  of  Paris,  was  placed  in  the 


Building  of  the  Cathedral  in  Louisville.      149 

tower,  at  a  cost  of  t\\  u  thousand  dollars.  The  cathedral 
was  put  under  the  special  protection  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
and  of  St.  Joseph,  the  patron  of  the  diocese.  "  By  a  coin- 
cidence not  prearranged,"  said  Bishop  Spalding,  "  it  hap- 
pened tliat  the  chief  events  connected  with  the  building 
occurred  on  Feasts  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  The  subscription 
was  opened  on  the  Feast  of  the  Annunciation,  the  digging 
of  the  foundation  was  begun  on  the  Feast  of  the  Visitation^ 
the  corner-stone  was  laid  on  the  Feast  of  the  Assumption, 
and  the  dedication  took  place  on  the  Feast  of  the  Holy- 
Rosary.  Thus,"  he  added,  *'  the  Holy  and  Immaculate 
Virgin,  under  whose  auspices  the  cathedral  was  begun, 
watched  over  it  to  completion.  May  she  continue  to  smile 
on  it,  and  on  all  who  will  worship  within  its  walls." 

By  a  special  rescript  from  Rome,  the  feast  of  the  dedica- 
tion was  transferred  from  the  first  Sunday  of  October  to  the 
fourth  Sunday  of  September,  to  prevent  it  from  clashing 
with  the  Feast  of  the  Holy  Rosary. 

In  the  meantime,  the  other  congregations  of  the  diocese 
were  not  neglected.  Bishop  Spalding,  since  his  consecra- 
tion, had  dedicated  the  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion, in  Louisville ;  that  of  St.  Catharine,  at  New  Haven, 
and  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Rosary,  at  Manton.  New 
churches  had  been  built  in  Paducah,  Henderson,  and  Mays- 
ville ;  and  in  Frankfort,  the  capital  of  the  State,  a  hand- 
some church,  and  house  for  priest's  residence,  had  been 
bought  from  the  Presbyterians,  and  dedicated  to  divine 
worship.  A  community  of  Magdalens  had  been  founded  in 
connection  with  the  convent  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  in  a 
house  built  for  that  purpose  b)-  the  first  person  who  took 
the  habit  in  the  new  community — Sister  Mary,  of  St. 
Augustine.  In  the  winter  of  1851-52,  Bishop  Spalding 
was  engaged  in  writing  the  life  of  Bishop  Flaget,  which,  as 
he  says  in  the  preface,  was  a  labor  of  filial  love,  though  not 


150  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

without  its  difficulties,  especially  for  one  so  engrossed  by  a 
multiplicity  of  cares  and  duties  seemingly  incompatible  with 
literary  occupations. 

"  If  our  early  missionaries  labored  much,"  he  says,  "  they 
wrote  but  little.  Their  time  was  too  much  occupied  in  the 
discharg-e  of  severe  ministerial  duties  to  allow  them  leisure 
for  recording  their  proceedings.  Hence  our  early  religious 
history  is  involved  in  no  little  obscurity;  and  the  enquirer 
who  wishes  to  trace  the  origin  and  progress  of  our  missions, 
has  to  contend  with  many  difficulties.  Among  these,  the 
principal  is  the  paucity  of  well-ascertained  facts  and  dates. 
Materials  there  are,  indeed,  here  and  there,  in  abundance  ; 
but  they  are  scattered,  unconnected,  often  vague  in  their 
accounts,  and,  still  more  frequently,  merely  local,  personal, 
or  otherwise  unimportant  in  their  details."  * 

Archbishop   Kenrick,  to  whom  he  had  communicated  his 
intention  of  writing  a  biography  of  Bishop  Flaget,  replied  : 
"  I  am  glad  to  learn  that  you  intend  to  write  a  life  of  your 
venerable  predecessor.     It  is  truly  a  reproach  to  us  that  we 
suffer  the  memory  of  persons  and  things  so  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  the  church,  in  this  country,  to  lie 
buried  in   episcopal  archives,  without  making  any  effort  to 
give  them  publicity.     I  hope  that  your  example  will  not  be 
without   its  favorable  influence  on  others."     In  composing 
this  life,  it  was  necessary  to  examine  three  thousand  letters, 
besides  thirty-four  volumes  of  a  MS.  journal  kept  by  Bishop 
Flaofet,  which   involves   an   amount  of  thankless   labor   not 
easily  appreciated  by  those  to  whom  a  similar  task  has  never 
been  given  to  perform.     The  work  is  a  valuable  contribution 
to  the   early  history  of  the  church  west  of  the  Alleghany 
Mountains.     The  delicate  task  of  writing  the  biography  of 
one  so  recently  dead,  and  whose  life  had  been  so  intimately 
connected   with    many   persons  still   living,   caused    Bishop 
*  Life  of  Bishop  /'^c/'— Preface. 


Division  of  the  Diocese.  151 

Spalding  to  feci  anxious  lest  he  should  give  offence,  and  he 
consulted  Archbishop  Kenrick  as  to  the  rules  which  should 
guide  him,  in  view  of  this  difficulty. 

"  In  the  correspondence  of  Bishop  Flaget,"  he  wrote, 
^' especially  with  Bishop  Dubourg,  there  are  many  interest- 
ing disclosures  concerning  the  administration  of  dioceses, 
the  erection  of  new  sees  in  the  West,  the  nomination  of 
suitable  persons  for  them,  and  other  things  of  like  import. 
I  fear  I  shall  make  some  blunders  and  commit  not  a  few 
indiscretions;  but  I  desire  to  embody  as  much  information 
as  possible  on  the  early  history  of  our  Western  dioceses.  I 
wish  I  had  a  little  of  your  Roman  caution.  Pray  for  me, 
and  give  freely  any  advice  you  have  to  offer." 

The  Archbishop,  however,  declined  to  make  any  sug- 
gestions, and  simply  answered  :  "  I  must  leave  you  to  your 
own  prudence  as  to  both  the  living  and  the  dead." 

Archbishop  Eccleston,  the  fifth  Archbishop  of  Baltimore, 
died  in  April,  1851,  and  in  August  of  the  same  year  Bishop 
Kenrick  was  translated  from  Philadelphia  to  fill  the  vacant  see. 
A  few  weeks  later,  he  received  letters  directing  him  to  hold 
a  Plenary  Council  of  the  entire  episcopate  of  the  United 
States,  and  appointing  him  Apostolic  Legate,  with  au- 
thority to  preside  over  the  assembly.  Bishop  Spalding  felt 
that  the  increasing  Catholic  population  of  the  extensive 
territory  under  his  spiritual  jurisdiction  demanded  a  division 
of  the  diocese  of  Louisville ;  and  he  therefore  wrote  to 
Archbishop  Kenrick  on  the  subject,  stating  his  reasons, 
which  he  desired  to  submit  to  the  council.  In  his  reply,  the 
Archbishop,  after  giving  his  opinion  in  favor  of  the  forma- 
tion of  the  new  diocese,  says:  "The  number  of  our  sees 
is  likely  to  reach  forty  by  the  action  of  the  National. 
■Council  ;  since  New  Jersey,  North  Carolina,  Florida,  South- 
ern Illinois,  Sault  Sainte-Marie,  and  other  places,  are  spoken 
of  as  ready  for  sees."     And  a  few  days  later  he  wrote:    "  I 


152  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

beg  of  you  to  prepare  your  views  as  to  the  decrees  to  be 
formed    in    the    council,  since  two    or    three    prelates,  well 
prepared,  can  expedite  our  proceedings.     I  think  we  should 
sit  during  two  weeks,  or  at  least  until  Ascension  Thursday, 
I   directed   the  old  catechism,  as  revised  by  the  Bishop  of 
Buffalo,  to  be  sent  to  you,  that  you  may  communicate  to- 
him  your  observations,  and  thus  prepare  for  the  adoption  of 
a  uniform  catechism.     Some  Lazarists  are  preparing  a  new 
and    much    improved    edition  of   our    ceremonial.     I    have 
directed  an  extract  from  the  exposition  of  ceremonies,  pub- 
lished at  Rome  by  Bishop  England,  to  be  prefixed,  since  he 
was  charged  by  the  first  council  to  prepare  such  an  explana- 
tion.    I  am  also  getting  out  a  new  edition  of  my  work  on 
baptism,  and  will  be  most  thankful  for  your  candid  remarks 
and  suggestions.     Your  trip  South  will,  I  trust,  renew  your 
health,  and  give  you  an  opportunity   of   writing  a    saint'a 
life  without  distraction.     I  asked  the  Bishop  of  Boston  ta 
preach  on  the  day  of  commemorating  the  deceased  prelates,, 
but  have  received   no  reply.     If  he  should  decline,  I  shall 
rely   on   you.     The   venerable    Flaget   should  be  the  chief 
subject.     You  will  not  feel  yourself  slighted  in  getting  only 
this  contingent  invitation,  as  I  treat  my  dearest  friends  with 
freedom."     A   week    later    he    wrote    again :   "  The  Bishop 
of  Boston   declines   preaching  the   funeral,  on   the  plea  of 
being   unacquainted  with  the  merits  of  the  deceased,  espe- 
cially of  the  venerable  Flaget,  who   ought  to  be  the  main 
subject  of  the  panegyric.     You  cannot  put  in  this  plea  ;    so, 
waiving  all  excuse,  please  prepare  for  that  grand  occasion. 
Dr.  Fitzpatrick  desires  to  have  two  new  sees  erected — owq  at 
Portland,  in  Maine  ;    the  other  at   Burlington,  Vermont.     I 
agree  with  him,  and  think  that   Boston  ought   to  be  raised 
to  the  dignity  of  an  archdiocese,  of  which  he,  however,  has 
no   idea.     The   same   honor   ought,    in   my   opinion,    to    be 
awarded  to   Philadelphia,  since  both  these  cities  have  vast 


Division  of  the  Diocese.  1 5  5 

populations,   and    historical    reminiscences    connected   with 
our  government  and  independence." 

In  reply  to  this  letter,  Bishop  Spalding  wrote  as  follows: 

"Louisville,  February  9,  1852. 
"  Most  Reverend  and  Dear  Friend  : 

"  As  I  intimated  in  my  last,  I  accept,  though  with  fear 
and  trembling,  your  invitation  to  preach  at  the  service  for 
the  deceased  prelates.  Three  subjects  for  one  discourse — 
and  such  subjects  ! — will,  I  fear,  be  above  my  strength  ;  but 
I  shall  try  to  do  the  best  I  can.  The  good  Bishop  of  Bos- 
ton, for  so  bold  a  man  against  heretics,  is  remarkably  diffi- 
dent. I,  this  day,  write  to  Bishop  Timon  my  observations 
on  his  catechism.  As  the  subject  is  important,  I  have  re- 
ceived on  it  the  report  of  three  divines,  my  brother  being 
chairman.  With  several  small  changes,  the  catechism  will, 
I  think,  meet  a  want  which  has  been  generally  felt  ;  and 
nowhere  so  much  as  in  the  West,  where  persons  come  to- 
gether from  the  various  Eastern  dioceses,  having  been  taught 
every  variety  of  catechism.  God  grant  that  a  common 
catechism  may  be  adopted  !  The  want  of  uniform  practice 
throughout  the  Union  in  regard  to  feasts,  fasts,  and  other 
observances  is  also  very  embarrassing.  Here,  for  instance,, 
on  the  two  sides  of  the  Ohio  River,  we  have  tw^o  kinds  of 
discipline,  which  is  very  awkward,  as  the  people  of  Indiana 
are  thrown  into  constant  contact  with  my  own  diocesans. 
There  should  also,  by  all  means,  be  a  uniform  discipline 
adopted  for  the  Germans,  who  are  migrating  to  the  West 
with  their  different  local  practices." 

At  the  recommendation  of  the  fathers  of  the  First  Ple- 
nary Council  of  Baltimore,  which  met  in  May,  1852,  Pope 
Pius  IX.  consented  to  create  a  new  diocese  in  Kentucky,, 
embracing  all  that  part  of  the  State  lying  east  of  the  Ken- 


ic,4  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

tucky  River.  The  see  was  placed  at  Covington,  and  the 
Rev.  George  Carrell,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  was  made  its 
first  Bishop. 

In  one  of  the  decrees  (n.  90)  of  the  First  Plenary  Council 
•of  Baltimore,  the  fathers  use  the  following  impressive  lan- 
guage :  "  We  exhort  the  bishops,  and,  considering  the  most 
grievous  evils  which  are  accustomed  to  follow  from  the 
faulty  education  of  youth,  we  beseech  them  through  the 
bowels  of  the  mercy  of  God,  to  see  that  schools  be  estab- 
lished in  connection  with  all  the  churches  of  their  dioceses  ; 
.and,  if  it  be  necessary  and  circumstances  permit,  to  pro- 
vide from  the  income  of  the  church  to  which  the  school  is 
-attached  for  the  support  of  competent  teachers."  Bishop 
Flaget  had,  in  1820,  received  letters  from  the  Propaganda, 
in  which  he  was  urged  to  found  Catholic  schools,  and,  a 
little  later,  all  the  bishops  of  the  United  States  were  ex- 
horted by  the  Holy  Father  to  have  recourse  to  this  as  the 
only  effectual  means  of  preserving  the  faith  of  their  people. 
The  desire  to  comply  more  fully  with  these  instructions  than 
it  had  hitherto  been  possible  to  do  in  Kentucky,  was  one 
•of  the  chief  motives  which  induced  Bishop  Spalding  to 
visit  Europe  in  the  fall  of  1852.  In  his  Life  of  Bishop 
Flaget^  which  had  just  been  published,  in  referring  to  this 
subject,  he  had  said:  "This  system  of  parochial  schools, 
wherever  it  can  be  carried  out,  harmonizes  well  with  the 
■spirit  and  practice  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and,  if  fully 
established,  would  be  attended  with  immense  advantages 
to  morality  and  religion.  Education  without  religion  is  a 
body  without  a  soul — it  develops  and  gives  strength  to  the 
passions,  while  it  withholds  the  only  effectual  influence 
■w'hich  can  guide  and  control  them  for  good."  Archbishop 
Hughes  had  said,  in  1850:  "I  think  the  time  has  almost 
come  when  it  will  be  necessa-ry  to  build  the  school-house 
first  and  the  church  afterwards." 


Division  of  the  Diocese.  155 

Schools  for  girls  existed  already  very  generally  through- 
out the  diocese,  and  the  sisterhoods  of  Nazareth  and  Lo- 
retto  were  able  to  meet  the  demands  which  were  nnade  for 
teachers.  But  it  was  found  extremely  difficult  to  establish 
■good  elementary  schools  for  boys.  It  was  not  easy  to  find 
■competent  lay  teachers,  and,  when  found,  it  was  often  im- 
possible to  pay  them  the  salaries  which  they  demanded. 
In  a  letter  to  one  of  his  brothers  in  the  episcopate,  Bishop 
.Spalding  said  :  "■Rem  acu  tetigisti :  Your  letter  pictures  the 
great  want  we  all  feel  in  this  country — that  of  teachers 
for  our  children,  especially  the  boys,  who  are  going  to  ruin 
by  hundreds  and  thousands.  As  the  Holy  Father  so  well 
■says,  the  machinations  of  the  enemies  of  Christ  are  now 
•chiefly  directed  to  misleading  and  corrupting  youth  ;  and  in 
these  satanical  attempts  on  innocence  they  succeed,  alas  ! 
but  too  well.   .  .   ." 

What  was  to  be  done  to  counteract  this  evil,  the  exist- 
ence of  which  no  one  could  deny  ?  The  teaching  orders  of 
religious  women  had  supplied,  to  a  very  great  extent,  at 
least,  the  remedy  for  the  Catholic  children  of  their  own  sex, 
;ajid  the  question  naturally  presented  itself.  Could  not  bro- 
therhoods be  established  which  would  do  for  boys  what  the 
sisterhoods  had  done  for  girls  ?  This  had  been  a  favorite 
idea  with  Bishop  Flaget  from  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  Ken- 
tucky. Father  Nerincks,  the  founder  of  the  Sisterhood  of 
Loretto,  had,  in  1824,  matured  the  plan  for  a  teaching  bro- 
therhood, which  death  prevented  him  from  carrying  into 
execution.  Two  years  later,  Bishop  Flaget,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  Rev.  M.  Derigaud,  succeeded  in  bringing  toge- 
ther a  few  religious  men,  who  bound  themselves  by  vows 
for  three  years,  and  who  seemed  destined  to  realize  his 
anticipations  of  the  good  results  to  be  expected  from  the 
permanent  establishment  of  a  brotherhood  in  the  diocese. 
A  beginning  was  made  at  St.  Thomas',  and  in  the   spring 


156  Life  of  ArchbisJwp  Spaldmg. 

of  1827,  the  Brothers,  under  the  direction  of  Father  Deri- 
gaud,  removed  to  a  farm  belonging  to  the  church,  in  Casey- 
County.  They  had  built  a  house,  and  had  just  entered 
upon  the  life  of  a  religious  community,  when  Father  Deri-' 
gaud  died,  and  the  Bishop,  being  unable  to  find  a  suitable- 
person  to  assume  the  direction  of  affairs,  the  brotherhood 
languished  and,  at  the  close  of  the  three  years  for  which- 
they  had  taken  vows,  was  dissolved.  In  1847,  two  Brothers- 
of  St.  Francis,  from  Ireland,  took  charge  of  the  free  school 
in  Louisville,  which  had  been  recently  built.  They,  how- 
ever, met  with  but  little  success,  and  did  not  remain  more 
than  a  year.  The  school  was  then  given  in  charge  of  the 
Jesuits,  who  had  just  re-entered  the  diocese.  But,  in  the 
summer  of  1852,  they  also,  for  some  cause  or  other,  wished 
to  give  it  back  into  the  hands  of  the  Bishop.  Difficulties 
of  this  kind,  however,  were  by  no  means  confined  to  Ken- 
tucky. Even  in  so  wealthy  a  place  as  New  York,  with  a 
large  and  influential  Catholic  population,  the  attempt  to 
introduce  the  Christian  Brothers  failed  at  first,  though  a 
second  effort  was  more  successful. 

Another  obstacle,  which  experience  had  already  proven 
not  to  be  imaginary,  to  the  success  of  elementary  schools- 
conducted  by  brotherhoods,  was  the  tendency  on  their  part,. 
not  always  without  reasons  which,  to  themselves  at  least,, 
seemed  sufficient,  to  devote  their  best  talents  and  energy 
to  select  schools,  to  the  inevitable  detriment  of  such  as 
were  attended  almost  exclusively  by  the  children  of  the 
poor. 

But  to  have  failed  once  or  twice  in  a  good  cause  is- 
only  to  have  learned  how  to  succeed  in  the  future,  and 
the  obstacles  which  stand  between  us  and  the  work  God 
has  given  us  to  do,  are  intended  to  develop  our  Christian 
manhood. 

Bishop  Spalding  then  determined  to  visit  Europe,,  to  try 


Division  of  the  Diocese.  157 

to  procure  teachers  for  the  children  whom  Christ  had  com- 
mitted to  his  charge.  He  had  another  object,  not  less 
important,  in  view  in  undertaking  this  journey :  he  needed 
more  priests,  and  hoped  to  find  them  in  the  Catholic  coun- 
tries of  the  Old  World. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

VISIT     TO     EUROPE  —  THE     XAVERIAN     BROTHERS  —  THET 
AMERICAN    COLLEGE    AT    LOUVAIN. 

ISHOP  SPALDING  sailed  from  New  York  on 
the  20th  of  November,  and  landed  in  Havre  on 
the  5th  of  December,  1852,  just  in  time  to  assist 
at  the  solemn  inauguration  of  the  Empire,  the 
splendor  of  whose  rise  has  been  surpassed  only  by  the  un- 
equalled ignominy  in  which  it  has  fallen  amid  the  general 
wreck  and  ruin  of  the  nation. 

In    Rouen,  he   was    received    by  the  Archbishop  with  a 
cordiality  and  kindness  which,  in  France,  were  everywhere 
extended  to  him  as  the  successor  of  the  venerable  Flaget. 
In  his  company,  he  visited  the  old  Norman  cathedral,  where 
Richard  Coeur  de  Lion   is    buried,  and    the    church  of   St. 
Ouen,  which  is  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  Gothic  archi- 
tecture in  the  world.     He  saw  also  the  palace  of  the  Duke 
of  Bedford,  where  Joan  of  Arc  was  condemned  to  death, 
and  the  Palais  de  Justice,  the  old  Parliament    House  of  the 
Dukes  of  Normandy.     In  Paris,  he  called  on  M.  Deluol,  at 
St.  Sulpice,  who  thought  there  was  little  hope  of  his  being 
able  to  obtain  priests,  at  least  in  that  part  of  France.     He 
met  here  Cardinal  Gousset,  whose  works  on  theology  have 
given   him  considerable  reputation.     He  describes  him,  in 
the  short  jottings  which  he  set  down  in  a  kind  of  journal, 
as  "  a  rough-looking  man  of  middle  age,  with  very  black 
countenance."     From  the  Cardinal  he  received  no  encour- 
agement^he  himself  had  need  of  an  hundred  and  fifty  more 
priests  than  he  had  in  his  diocese.     The  impression  he  re- 


Visit  to  Europe.  1 59 

ceived  concerning  the  state  of  rclii;ion  in  France  was  unfavor- 
able. He  was  particularly  pained  by  the  very  general  want 
of  respect  for  the  sanctity  of  Sunday.  From  a  Jesuit,  in 
Paris,  he  learned  that  not  one-fourtli  of  the  women  and  not 
one-tenth  of  the  men  in  that  great  city  complied  with  the 
precepts  of  the  church.  He  was  delighted,  however,  to  hear 
from  the  Abb6  Gaume  that  Gallicanism  was  well-nigli  ex- 
tinct,  and  that  nearly  all  the  French  bishops  were  now  in 
favor  of  the  Roman  rite,  whereas  five  years  before  a  con- 
siderable number  of  them  had  been  opposed  to  it. 

He  remained  in  Paris  but  a  few  days,  and  went  thence  to- 
Amiens,  where  he  saw  the  Abbe  Gerbet,  so  well  known 
from  his  having  been  associated,  in  editing  the  Avenir,  with 
Lammenais,  Lacordaire,  and  Montalembert,  and  whose  beau- 
tiful works  on  the  Sacrament  of  Penance  and  the  Holy 
Eucharist  have  endeared  him  to  all  Catholic  readers.  He 
describes  him  as  "a  tall,  elderly-looking  man,  with  a  stu- 
dent-like air."  He  preached  here  in  French  in  the  convent 
of  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart.  Although  he  spoke 
French  with  a  good  deal  of  ease,  he,  of  course,  did  not 
speak  it  with  perfect  accuracy;  and  I  remember  hearing 
him  relate,  as  illustrative  of  French  politeness,  a  ridiculous 
blunder  which  he  made  in  one  of  his  sermons  during  this 
visit.  In  speaking  of  the  mingling  of  the  good  with  the 
wicked,  in  the  church,  he  intended  to  say  that  even  one  of 
the  apostles  was  a  traitor,  but  he  used  the  French  word 
traiteiir,  which  means  a  saloon-keeper  ;  "  and  yet,"  he  would 
add  in  telling  this,  "  so  wonderful  is  French  politeness,  that 
in  my  whole  audience  I  did  not  perceive  even  a  smile." 
Without  making  longer  stay,  for  the  present,  in  France,  he 
crossed  over  into  Belgium,  with  the  hope  that  the  country 
which  had  given  Father  Nerincks  to  Kentucky,  would  be 
willing  to  send  other  apostles  to  continue  the  noble  work 
which  he  had  begun. 


i6o  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

In  Bruges,  he  found  the  Xaverian  Brotherhood,  which  had 
but  recently  been  established,  with  a  special  view  to  the 
wants  of  the  church  in  the  United  States.  The  Brothers 
were  praying  for  an  opening  in  America,  and  the  founder 
and  superior  had  placed  in  bank  the  money  necessary  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  the  voyage. 

After  consulting  with  Mgr.  Malou,  the  learned  Bishop  of 
Bruges,  and  formerly  professor  in  the  University  of  Lou- 
vain,  Bishop  Spalding  entered  into  an  agreement  with  these 
Brothers,  by  which  they  bound  themselves  to  open  schools 
in  Louisville  as  soon  as  arrangements  for  their  reception 
should  be  made.  They  came  out  in  1854,  and  began  to 
teach  in  a  building  which  the  Bishop  had  put  up  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  city,  on  the  lot  on  which  St.  Patrick's 
church  now  stands.  Their  success,  for  several  years,  was 
but  partial.  The  founder,  who  had  accompanied  the  infant 
colony  to  Louisville,  though  a  man  of  excellent  intentions, 
did  not  seem  to  understand  how  to  adapt  his  institute  to 
the  new  circumstances  in  which  he  was  here  placed,  and  the 
work  began  really  to  prosper  only  after  he  had  been  super- 
seded as  superior.  Under  the  new  government,  the  commu-  • 
nity  grew  in  numbers,  until  the  Brothers  were  able  to  take 
charge  of  all  the  parochial  schools  for  boys,  both  English 
and  German,  in  the  city. 

Bishop  Spalding  gave  them  a  handsome  house  on  Fourth 
Street,  in  which  they  opened  a  novitiate.  Thus  he  had  the 
consolation  of  seeing  the  Xaverian  Brotherhood  firmly  es- 
tablished in  the  diocese  ;  and  the  thought  that  he  had  made 
permanent  provision  for  the  education  of  the  Catholic  boys 
of  Louisville  was  to  him  most  reassuring.  He  was  also  very 
anxious  to  have  the  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools  in 
Louisville.  In  1859,  ^^^  offered  to  give  them  ten  thousand 
dollars,   to    assist    them    in    establishing    themselves    there. 


The  Xaver'iaii  Brothers.  i6i 

They,  however,  declined  to  come,  on  the  ground  that  their 
numbers  did  not  justify  them  in  opening  new  schools. 

In  i860,  Bishop  Spalding  succeeded  in  getting  the  Brothers 
of  Christian  Instruction,  to  whom  he  gave  the  care  of  the 
orphans  at  St.  Thomas'.  It  was  his  wish  to  place  them  in 
Owensboro  or  Paducah,  that  they  might  establish  there  a 
novitiate,  which  would  enable  them,  after  a  time,  to  take 
charge  of  the  parochial  schools  in  the  towns  and  country 
congregations  throughout  the  diocese.  But,  in  the  mean- 
while, the  civil  war  broke  out  ;  his  correspondence  with  the 
Provincial,  who  resided  at  Mobile,  was  interrupted,  and  be- 
fore any  definite  arrangement  could  be  made  he  had  been 
transferred  to  Baltimore. 

Bishop  Spalding,  during  his  stay  in  Belgium,  visited  the 
various  dioceses,  in  order  to  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
the  seminaries,  and  addressing  the  students  in  behalf  of  the 
American  missions.  He  was  everywhere  warmly  received 
by  both  bishops  and  priests. 

"  How  kind  and  hospitable  is  Belgium  !  "  he  wrote  ;  "  how 
full  of  faith  and  sincerity  these  excellent  Catholics  are  !  " 

"  Belgium  has  preserved,"  wrote  Montalembert  just  at 
this  time,  "  with  greater  fidelity  than  any  other  people,  the 
manners  and  the  institutions  of  the  old  Catholic  world  ;  the 
Middle  Ages  had  never  there  been  disguised  by  the  spirit  of 
courtliness.  Hence  she  has  been  the  first  called  to  apply 
the  conditions  and  to  reap  the  fruits  of  the  Catholic  action 
in  the  modern  world.  Her  nationality,  nobly  reconquered, 
reposes  upon  a  constitution  which  her  Catholic  children 
have  had  the  glory  of  giving  to  her,  and  of  defending  with 
fidelity  down  to  the  present  day.  She  has  consecrated  all 
the  vows  and  all  the  conquests  of  Catholicism  in  modern 
times  ;  the  absolute  independence  of  the  church  ;  the  free 
choice  of  the  bishops  b\'  the  Vicar  of  Christ  ;  complete 
liberty   in   all   matters   relating   to  education   and   religious 


1 62  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

associations.  Her  territory  has  gradually  become  covered 
with  monasteries,  colleges,  and  pious  foundations.  She 
alone  in  Europe  has  witnessed  the  revival  of  one  of  those 
universities,  such  as  they  existed  in  the  ages  of  faith,  devo- 
ted exclusively  to  the  defence  of  truth." 

It  was  during  this  visit  to  Belgium  that  Bishop  Spalding 
conceived  the  idea  of  establishing  an  American  College  at 
Louvain.  He  develops  his  plan  in  the  following  letter  to 
Archbishop  Kenrick,  dated  Mechlin,  January  7,  1852  : 

"  I  have  visited  several  of  the  Belgian  dioceses,  and  I  have 
seen  much  in  this  truly  Catholic  country  to  console  and 
edify  me.  I  have  every  prospect  of  success  in  the  principal 
object  of  my  journey  ;  and,  should  my  anticipations  be  re- 
alized, I  hope,  with  the  divine  blessing,  to  be  able  to  place 
my  diocese  on  a  new  footing.  I  dined  to-day  with  Cardinal 
Sterckx,  a  most  holy  and  learned  prelate.  Conversing  with 
his  eminence  on  the  utility  of  establishing  here  a  Missionary 
College,  he  entered  warmly  into  the  project,  and  promised 
to  second  it  with  all  his  influence,  which  is  very  great,  apart 
from  his  high  position.  He  suggested  the  following  plan,  of 
the  success  of  which  he  entertains  no  doubt.  I  lay  it  before 
you  for  your  opinion  and  advice  : 

"  The  college  is  to  be  for  the  education  of  young  men  for 
the  American  missions,  and  is  to  be  established  in  connec- 
tion with  the  University  of  Louvain,  which  is  in  the  arch- 
diocese of  Mechlin.  The  students  in  the  beginning  will 
occupy  a  rented  house,  and  will  have  the  privilege  of  attend- 
ing the  course  of  studies  at  the  university  free  of  charge. 
The  discipline  of  the  college  will  be  under  the  direction  of 
an  American  missionary,  who  will  teach  English,  and  exert 
himself  to  procure  the  necessary  funds  for  keeping  up  the 
establishment,  which,  the  Cardinal  thinks,  can  be  easily 
realized  in  Belgium  ;  and  this  is  the  opinion  of  all  those 
clergymen  with  whom   I  have  conversed  on  the  subject. 


American  College  at  Loicvain,  163 

Students  will  not  be  wanting,  for  in  this  diocese  particularly 
the  number  of  candidates  for  the  ministry  far  exceeds  the 
demand  for  clergymen. 

"  Such  are  the  outlines  of  the  plan,  which,  if  carried  out, 
will  be  of  great  utility  to  our  missions.  The  studies  at  Lou- 
vain  are  of  a  high  order  ;  and,  perhaps,  some  of  our  bishops 
may  send  students  of  talent  to  perfect  their  education  in 
this  renowned  university.  The  ecclesiastical  spirit  here  is 
admirable,  and  the  simple  piety  of  the  people  contrasts 
strongly  with  the  comparative  coldness  of  Catholics  in  Pro- 
testant countries. 

"A  hundred  young  men  educated  at  Louvain  for  the 
American  missions  !  Is  not  the  thought  enlivening  ?  And 
yet,  it  is  very  far  from  impossible  ;  and,  if  the  Cardinal's 
anticipations  be  well  grounded,  it  may  be  done  with  little  or. 
no  expense  to  the  American  prelates." 

Archbishop  Kenrick  did  not  take  a  favorable  view  of  this- 
project,  and  the  carrying  out  of  Bishop  Spalding's  plan  was 
in  consequence  delayed. 

The  scheme  was  not,  however,  allowed  to  drop  out  of 
thought,  and  five  years  after  the  date  of  this  letter  we  find 
Bishop  Spalding,  with  the  co-operation  of  Bishop  Lefevre,. 
of  Detroit,  taking  active  steps  towards  establishing  a  college 
at  Louvain  ;  though  the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  was  still 
unfavorable  to  the  project. 

"  I  cannot  see,"  wrote  Bishop  Spalding  to  Archbishop 
Kenrick,  in  February,  1857,  "why  Belgium  should  not  have 
a  missionary  college,  like  Ireland,  France,  and  Italy,  or  why 
we  should  not  profit  by  the  abundant  missionary  zeal  of  her 
clergy.  Bishop  O'Connor  wrote  to  me  from  Philadelphia, 
on  the  6th  of  December :  '  The  Archbishop  of  Baltimore 
had  first  declined  having  anything  to  do  with  the  project 
(of  the  Belgian  College)  ;  but  he  has  given  me  a  letter  to 
the  Cardinal  of  Mechlin,  expressing  strongly  the  interest  he 


164  L,ife  of  Archbishop   Spalding. 

•feels  in  it.'  I  naturally  inferred  from  this  that  we  should 
have  the  great  benefit  of  your  approval  and  influence  in 
carrying  out  a  plan  which  Providence  seems  to  favor  at  this 
lime,  and  which,  I  am  confident,  promises  much  good  for 
the  future.  Belgians  have  been  among  the  very  best  mis- 
sionaries we  have  had  in  Kentucky,  as  you  know.  I  am 
sure  the  American  College  at  Louvain  will  not  in  the  least 
interfere  with  that  contemplated  in  Rome  ;  and,  if  I  mistake 
not,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kindekens  informed  me  that  the  project 
Avould  meet  with  great  favor  in  Rome,  he  having  spoken  of 
it  to  persons  high  in  station  there." 

On  the  4th  of  February,'  1857,  Bishop  Spalding  and  Bish- 
op Lefevre  addressed  the  following  circular  to  the  Arch- 
bishops and  Bishops  of  the  United  States  : 

*'  Most  Reverend  and  Dear  Sir  : 

"  We  take  the  liberty  to  forward  to  you  herewith  a  pro- 
spectus of  the  American  College  to  be  established  in  Bel- 
gium in  connection  with  the  University  at  Louvain.  As 
Providence  seems  at  present  to  favor  the  founding  of  this 
college,  in  which  many  eminent  and  pious  persons  in  Bel- 
gium take  so  lively  an  interest,  we  have  ventured  to  move 
in  the  matter,  after  having  consulted  with  some  of  our 
brethren— feeling  that  unless  some  one  took  the  initiative, 
no  commencement  would  probably  be  made.  The  principles 
embodied  in  the  prospectus  are,  in  our  opinion,  those  which 
are  best  calculated  to  give  the  college  a  solid  beginning,  and 
to  put  it  in  proper  working  order,  though  time  and  experi- 
ence may  induce  several  more  or  less  important  modifica- 
tions in  the  plan  now  proposed. 

"  We  take  the  liberty  to  request  that  if  you  should  ap- 
prove the  general  objects  and  regulations  of  the  college,  and 
desire  to  become  one  of  its  patrons,  you  should  have  the 
kindness  to  signify  the  same  to  the   Bishop  of  Detroit,  at  as 


American  College  at  Louvain.  165 

early  a  day  as  possible,  as  the  Rector  proposes  to  leave  for 
Europe  early  in  March,  and  it  will  be  highly  important  to 
Iiis  success  that  he  should  have  the  sanction  of  as  many 
American  prelates  as  possible.  Should  you  feel  inclined  to 
contribute  towards  the  foundation  of  the  college,  you  will 
please  to  specify  the  amount,  that  the  Rector  may  be  able 
to  calculate  his  resources.  The  eighth  article  of  the  pro- 
spectus will  indicate  the  benefits  arising  to  contributors. 
We  also  beg  to  mention,  as  an  evidence  of  our  own  confi- 
dence in  the  advantages  likely  to  result  from  the  proposed 
college,  that  we  have  each  agreed  to  contribute  one  thou- 
sand dollars  towards  its  establishment.  Should  you  desire 
to  adopt  any  students  according  to  the  ninth  article,  you 
will  please  instruct  the  Rector  accordingly. 

"  With  great  respect,  we  remain  your  faithful  brothers  in 
Christ, 

•fi  Martin  J.  Spalding, 

Bishop  of  Louisville. 
►J*  Peter  Paul  Lefevre, 

Bishop  Zel.  Coadj.  Adm.,  Detroit. 

Detroit,  February  4,  1857. 

This  circular  did  not  induce  even  one  Archbishop  or 
Bishop  to  give  the  sanction  of  his  name  to  the  new  un- 
dertaking. This,  however,  did  not  discourage  the  two 
Bishops  who  had  signed  it.  The  Very  Rev.  Peter  Kin- 
dekens  had  just  returned  from  Belgium  with  the  news  that 
Count  Felix  de  Merode  had  promised  to  give  sixty  thou- 
sand francs  towards  founding  the  new  college.  The  Cardi- 
nal of  Mechlin  and  one  or  two  other  Belgian  prelates  had 
renewed  their  assurance  of  sympathy  and  aid,  as  soon  as 
they  should  learn  that  at  least  some  of  the  Bishops  of  the 
United  States  had  put  their  hand  to  the  work  in  earnest. 
Mgr.   De  Ram    the   Rector  of  the  University  of  Louvain, 


1 66  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

liad  generously  offered  to  permit  the  students  of  the  Amer- 
ican College  to  follow  the  university  courses  of  philosophy 
and  theology  free  of  charge. 

Under  these  circumstances,  Bishop  Spalding  resolved  to 
take  immediate  steps  towards  establishing  the  college  at 
Louvain.  Bishop  Lefevre  and  himself  advanced  a  thousand 
dollars  each,  and  empowered  Father  Kindekens  to  proceed 
to  Belgium  and  open  a  house  for  the  reception  of  students, 
even  though  he  should  find  it  necessary  to  begin  the  work 
in  a  rented  building. 

In  the  prospectus  which  accompanied  the  circular  to  the 
American  hierarchy,  Bishop  Spalding  argued  in  favor  of  the 
project,  and  sought  to  meet  the  objections  of  those  who  dis- 
approved of  it. 

"  The  advantages  of  such  a  college,"  he  wrote,  "  are  mani- 
fest. Belgium  is  eminently  a  Catholic  country.  The  true 
ecclesiastical  spirit  is  found,  in  a  high  degree  of  perfection, 
in  the  seminaries,  which  there  abound.  The  climate  is 
healthy  and  similar  to  our  own,  while  the  people  are  robust 
in  body  and  mind,  industrious  and  practical  in  character. 
These  qualities  render  them  most  efficient  missionaries,  and 
suit  them  particularly  to  the  habits  and  wants  of  our  people, 
as  experience  has  proved.  Another  important  advantage  of 
the  proposed  college  is  the  facility  which  it  will  afford  for 
obtaining  suitable  German  missionaries,  thereby  supplying 
a  great  want.  The  celebrity  of  the  Louvain  University, 
lying  convenient  to  the  provinces  of  lower  Germany,  will 
draw  many  German  candidates  for  the  holy  ministry  to  the 
American  College  to  be  established  in  connection  with  that 
famous  institution,  where  proper  care  will  be  taken  to  train 
them  for  our  missions.  The  founding  of  this  college  will 
not,  it  is  believed,  interfere  with  the  establishment  of  a  col- 
lege or  of  colleges  for  the  higher  ecclesiastical  studies  in  the 
United  States,  or  with  the  proposed  American  College  at 


American  College  at  Louvain.  167 

Rome.  Many  of  the  young  men  educated  at  Louvain  may 
hereafter  be  very  usefully  employed  as  professors  in  our 
seminaries,  and  thus  they  will  rather  aid  than  impede  a 
taste  for  such  studies  in  our  own  country,  where  it  is  highly 
important  that  the  standard  of  ecclesiastical  education  should 
be  elevated  as  speedily  as  possible.  Should  the  Roman  Col- 
lege be  established  in  accordance  with  the  recommendation 
of  the  Holy  Father,  and  the  consequent  wish  of  the  Ameri- 
can prelates,  there  would  be  no  clashing  between  it  and  the 
■college  at  Louvain,  for  the  obvious  reason  that  the  former 
would  be  chiefly  for  young  men  sent  from  America  ;  whereas 
the  latter,  at  least  in  the  beginning,  would  be  filled  princi- 
pally with  young  men  from  Belgium,  Holland,  France,  and 
Germany." 

When  Father  Kindekens  reached  Belgium,  he  learned 
that  Count  de  Merode  was  dead,  and  that  all  hope  of 
getting  the  promised  sixty  thousand  francs  had  died  with 
him.  He  was  consequently  left  with  nothing  but  the  two 
thousand  dollars  given  by  Bishop  Spalding  and  Bishop 
Lefevre.  Having  taken  counsel  of  the  friends  of  the  enter- 
prise in  Belgium,  he  bought  the  College  d'Aulne,  founded 
in  1629;  and  there,  in  the  summer  of  1857,  he  opened  the 
American  College  of  the  Immaculate  Conception.'  Before 
the  end  of  the  year  he  had  eight  students  in  the  new  insti- 
tution, and  in  April,  1858,  he  sent  two  priests  to  Louisville 
and  two  to  Detroit.  In  i860,  Father  De  Neve  succeeded 
Father  Kindekens  as  rector  of  the  college,  and  to  his  zeal 
and  energy  much  of  the  good  which  has  been  done  must  be 
ascribed.  In  the  course  of  time  other  American  bishops 
"became  patrons  of  the  college ;  especially  those  who  had  no 
■seminary  of  their  own.  In  1863,  the  number  of  students 
liad  risen  to  forty.  The  college  has  now,  after  an  existence 
•of  sixteen  years,  sent  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  missionaries 
to   the    United    States,  who  have  been   educated  at  corn- 


1 68  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

m 

paratively  little  expense  to  the  American  bishops ;  so  that 
Bishop  Spalding's  anticipations  have  been  already  realized, 
and  more  even  than  he  hoped  for  has  been  done.  To  form 
a  correct  estimate  of  the  good  which  the  American  College 
o-f  Louvain  has  accomplished,  we  must  consider  that  a  large 
number  of  its  priests  have  been  sent  to  those  dioceses  where 
the  need  was  greatest  and  where  it  was  almost  impossible  to 
get  missionaries. 

As  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  Dr.  Spalding  continued  to 
do  everything  in  his  power  to  promote  the  interests  of  the 
American  College  of  Louvain.  In  a  letter  to  Father  De 
Neve,  written  in   1868,  he  says: 

"  I  was  delighted  to  learn  from  your  very  welcome  favor 
of  the  6th  inst.  how  well  you  were  received  in  Rome,  and 
with  what  courage  you  are  animated  to  continue  the 
noble  work  to  which  you  have  devoted  your  life.  Cardinal 
Barnabo  had  been  fully  posted  with  reference  to  the  nature 
and  object  of  our  missionary  college,  and  I  am  not  at  all 
surprised  that  he  received  you  so  well.  You  will  find  the 
college  honorably  mentioned  in  our  Plenary  Council." 

From  Belgium,  Bishop  Spalding  went  to  Holland,  where 
he  met  with  a  cordial  welcome  from  Archbishop  Zwysen, 
who  generously  offered  to  allow  any  of  his  priests,  who 
were  willing  to  devote  themselves  to  the  missions,  to 
accompany  him  to  America ;  and  he  also  proposed  to  send 
him  a  colony  of  Sisters,  capable  of  instructing  the  deaf  and 
dumb.  In  Holland,  which  had  so  long  persecuted  the 
soldiers  of  the  cross  in  two  hemispheres,  and  where,  but  a 
few  years  ago,  the  existence  of  Catholics  was  scarcely  sus- 
pected by  the  world.  Bishop  Spalding,  to  his  surprise,  found 
a  church  whose  members  constituted  more  than  a  third  of 
the  entire  population  of  the  kingdom,  and  who,  by  the 
gravity  of  their  manner?  and  the  fervor  of  their  faith,  had 
already  secured  for  it  an  honorable  position. 


Americaii   Collco-e  at  Loiivam.  169 


Six  young  Hollanders,  either  priests  or  ready  for  ordina- 
tion, were  received  by  Bishop  Spalding  for  the  diocese  of 
Louisville,  and,  on  his  return,  accompanied  him  to  Ken- 
tucky, lie  now  turned  his  steps  towanls  Rome,  stopping 
on  his  way,  in  Lyons,  where  he  made  the  acquaintance  of 
the  members  of  the  Council  of  the  Propagation  of  the 
Faith.  In  an  address,  which  he  was  invited  to  delivef 
before  them,  he  stated  the  wants  of  his  diocese  so  elo- 
quently that  a  handsome  sum  was  at  once  placed  at  his 
disposal,  for  the  benefit  of  the  church  in  Kentucky,  whose 
first  bishop  had  done  probably  more  than  any  other  man  to 
increase  and  extend  the  workings  and  usefulness  of  this 
noble  association. 

Whilst  here,  he  visited  the  famous  shrine  of  Notre  Dame 
de  Fourvieres,  which  overlooks  the  city  of  Lyons. 

His  note-book,  which  never  reaches  the  dignity  of  a 
journal,  and  which  was  not  intended  for  any  eye  but  his 
own,  bears  testimony,  on  almost  every  page,  to  his  spirit  of 
faith  and  prayer,  as  well  as  to  his  special  devotion  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin.  It  also  testifies  to  his  deep  interest  in 
the  church,  its  progress  and  organization,  in  all  the  places 
which  he  visits.  His  affections  are  not  confined  to  his  own 
little  diocese,  or  even  to  his  own  country,  but  they  are  as 
catholic  as  the  church  itself.  Wherever  he  meets  with 
Catholics,  he  feels  that  he  is  in  the  house,  not  merely  of 
friends,  but  of  brothers,  to  whom  he  is  bound  by  the  higher 
kinship  of  soul,  which  rises  superior  to  differences  of  cus- 
tom and  nationality.  Everywhere  he  finds  that  Catholic 
priests  are  kind-hearted,  hospitable,  and  sympathetic ; 
which,  I  imagine,  is  the  experience  of  all  who  have  been 
thrown  intimately  with  them.  If  they  have  been  hated  by 
those  who  knew  them  not,  they  have  also  been  loved  more 
than  any  other  cl;iss  of  men  on  earth  by  the  people,  the 
poor  and  the  suffering,  in  whose  hearts  the  tenderness  and 


I/O  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

devotion  of  the  Catholic  priesthood  have  built  up  the 
universal  republic  of  souls  which  stands  for  ever,  amid  the 
ruins  of  kingdoms  and  empires,  and  the  wrecks  of  time. 

In  Holland,  he  is  delighted  to  learn  that  Pius  IX.  has 
-determined  to  re-establish  the  hierarchy,  and  that  the  noble- 
hearted  Zwysen  is  to  be  raised  to  the  rank  of  an  archbishop. 
He  visits  the  seminaries,  colleges,  and  schools  ;  the  hospitals, 
asylums,  and  other  benevolent  institutions  ;  assists  at  the 
services  on  Sunday  in  parish  churches,  and  his  soul  expands 
in  this  atmosphere  of  faith  and  religion.  Like  a  loving 
son,  he  is  joyous  and  glad  at  beholding  the  power  of  his 
mother  over  the  hearts  of  her  children.  And  when  he  sees 
her  ministering  to  every  form  of  human  suffering,  his  love 
for  her  and  his  love  for  them  that  suffer  unite  to  make  him 
doubly  happy.  He  enquires  into  everything,  the  number 
■of  priests  and  seminarians,  of  convents  and  colleges,  of 
members  of  religious  communities,  of  parishes  and  schools  ; 
he  seeks  to  become  acquainted  with  the  manner  in  which 
the  various  ecclesiastical  institutions  are  conducted  and 
maintained  ;  with  the  practical  means  adopted  for  the  re- 
lief of  the  poor  and  the  reformation  of  the  wicked  ;  with 
the  relations  of  the  church  to  the  state.  In  Belgium,  he 
takes  the  deepest  interest  in  the  contest  which  was  then 
going  on  between  the  Catholic  and  infidel  parties.  He 
applauds  the  bishops  and  priests  for  the  firm  and  bold 
stand  which  they  had  taken  in  the  face  of  an  infidel  minis- 
try, which  was  endeavoring  to  poison  the  fountains  of  reli- 
gious truth,  by  introducing  a  false  and  pernicious  system 
•of  education.  He  glories  in  the  grand  old  University  of 
Louvain,  in  which  religion  and  science  had  made  alliance, 
ir  order  to  do  battle  against  the  degrading  and  fatalistic 
materialism  with  which  the  Universities  of  Liege  and  Ghent 
were  seeking  to  infect  the  milids  of  the  educated  classes. 
He    makes   the   acquaintance  of  the  professors — admirable 


American  College  at  Louvain,  171 

men,  whose  learning  and  wisdom  were  surpassed  only  by 
the  beauty  of  their  lives  and  the  humility  of  their  faith ; 
and  he  beholds  in  them  the  living  refutation  of  the  ignorant 
slander  that  there  is  antagonism  between  the  spirit  of  the 
church  and  the  highest  scientific  culture.  He  contrasts  the 
happy,  contented  faces  of  those  Catholic  populations  with 
the  eager,  anxious  look  of  our  own  people,  who  seem  as 
though  they  were  pursued  by  some  demon  which  will  not 
allow  them  to  look  beyond  the  grave  or  to  hope  for  rest 
before.  The  sight  of  their  robust  and  healthy  women  sug- 
gests to  him  the  thought  that  the  vitality  of  European 
nations  is,  in  great  measure,  due  to  them,  whilst  we  in 
America  are  doing  all  in  our  power  to  make  woman  a  mere 
nerve-organism,  an«,  consequently,  to  unfit  her  to  become 
a  mother. 

At  Avignon,  he  visited  the  palace  of  the  popes,  rendered 
so  famous  by  the  great  schism  of  the  West.  He  found 
that  it  had  been  converted  into  a  barracks.  The  French 
Revolution  has  written  its  history  all  over  the  Continent  of 
Europe  in  ineffaceable  lines  of  eternal  ignominy  ;  and  that 
same  spirit  which  led  to  the  destruction  or  profanation  of 
the-  grandest  monuments  of  religion  and  art,  still  survives 
in  the  infidel  revolutionary  party  which  sought  to  burn 
Paris,  and  which  would  gloat  with  demoniac  joy  over  the 
smouldering  ruins  of  St.  Peter's. 

In  Marseilles,  he  visited  the  benevolent  institutions  of 
Canon  Tissiaux,  the  founder  of  the  Congregation  of  the 
Priests  of  St.  Peter,  whose  special  mission  is  to  take  care 
of  orphans  and  to  minister  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  pri- 
soners. The  good  Canon  had  also  established  reformato- 
ries for  both  boys  and  girls,  in  which  they  were  taught  the 
various  trades.  The  introduction  of  the  trades  into  the 
education  of  these  children  struck  the  Bishop  as  an  excel- 
lent idea,  which  might  be  applied  with  the  best  results  in 


172  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding-. - 

the  United  States,  and  which,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  he 
himself  was  destined  to  put  to  the  practical  test.  In  Rome,, 
he  found  the  memory  of  the  atrocious  crimes  committed  in 
the  name  of  liberty,  during  the  short-lived  Republic  of  the 
Triumvirs,  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  all,  especially  the 
murders  of  priests  and  monks  by  Zambianchi,  with  the 
connivance  of  Mazzini ;  and  the  butchery  of  two  peasants, 
on  the  Ponte  St.  Angelo,  whom  the  mob  of  brutal  savages 
had  mistaken  for  Jesuits  in  disguise.  Rome,  at  that  time 
as  now,  was  filled  with  the  thieves  and  cutthroats  of  Eu- 
rope, who  seem  to  be  drawn  to  the  robber-government  of 
Italian  infidels  like  vultures  to  the  carcass. 

Bishop  Spalding  now  for  the  first  time  saw  Pius  IX.,  who 
twice  received  him  in  private  audience,  treating  him  with 
the  paternal  and  gentle  affection  which  never  fails  to  win 
the  hearts  of  those  who  are  brought  within  the  magic  circle 
in  which  he  moves. 

Bishop  Spalding  presented  various  papers  to  the  Holy 
Father  for  signature,  all  of  which  he  signed  only  after 
having  read  them  with  such  attention  as  to  detect  in  one 
a  verbal  error,  which  he  corrected.  The  Pope  spoke  with 
great  veneration  of  Bishop  Flaget,  and  referred  in  a  special 
manner  to  the  services  which  he  had  rendered  to  the  So- 
ciety for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith.  In  a  second  audi- 
ence, he  presented  a  report  of  his  administration  of  the 
diocese  of  Louisville. 

In  the  Propaganda,  Bishop  Spalding  was  received  with 
open  arms,  as  a  son  who,  having  been  sent  forth  to  battle, 
had  not  dishonored  his  ahna  mater.  He  said  Mass  and 
preached  for  the  students ;  dined  with  them  ;  and,  in  the 
company  of  the  Americans,  visited  the  sacred  places  where, 
as  a  young  man  in  the  full  fervor  of  youthful  devotion  and 
enthusiasm,  he  had  so  often  prayed. 

He  remained  in  Rome  but  two  weeks.     Passing  through 


American   College  at  Loiivain.  173 

the  principal  cities  and  exquisite  scenery  of  central  and 
northern  Italy,  he  crossed  Mont  Cenis,  making  part  of  the 
journey  in  sleighs,  and,  after  stopping  a  few  days  in  Lyons 
and  Clermont  to  make  arrangements  for  the  voyage  home 
with  some  ecclesiastics  who  were  to  accompany  him,  he 
arrived  in  Paris  on  the  2d  of  April,  1853.  On  the  25th  of 
the  same  month,  the  ten  ecclesiastics,  whom  he  had  gathered 
in  France,  Belgium,  and  Holland  for  the  diocese  of  Louis- 
ville, sailed  from  Havre,  whilst  Bishop  Spalding  w&nt  to 
Ireland,  with  the  hope  of  inducing  others  to  follow  their 
example. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

RELIGION   AND   NATIONALISM — THE    KNOW-NOTHING   CON- 
SPIRACY— "  BLOODY    MONDAY." 

HE  enemies  of  the  church,  in  this  country,  had 
sought  to  produce  the  impression  that  Catholi- 
cism was  a  foreign  religion,  and  that  to  be  Catho- 
lic was  to  be  un-American.  Hence  the  effort  was. 
made  throughout  the  land  to  excite  war  against  the  Catho- 
lics, as  the  enemies  of  American  institutions.  The  danger 
was,  lest  Catholics  should  yield  to  this  pressure,  and  gradu- 
ally isolate  themselves  and  lose  all  sympathy  both  with  the 
institutions  and  the  people  of  this  country,  considering  the 
American  state  the  enemy  of  their  religion.  The  result 
would  have  been  deplorable,  as  regards  the  interests  both, 
of  the  church  and  the  nation. 

It  was  not  the  American  people  who  were  seeking  ta 
make  war  on  the  church,  but  merely  a  party  of  religious 
fanatics  and  unprincipled  demagogues,  who  as  little  repre- 
sented the  American  people  as  did  the  mobs  whom  they 
incited  to  bloodshed  and  incendiarism.  Their  whole  con- 
duct was  un-American,  opposed  to  all  the  principles  and 
traditions  of  our  free  institutions.  To  have  patiently 
yielded  to  these  dark  conspirators,  and  to  have  allowed 
ourselves  to  be  thrust  into  the  position  of  a  spurious  and 
foreign  element,  would  have  been  worse  than  cowardice — 
it  would  have  been  madness.  This  country  was  not  a 
Protestant  country  more  than  a  Catholic  country,  and  the 
Catholic  citizen  was  no  more  a  foreigner  than  the  Protestant 
citizen.  The  whole  future  of  the  church  here,  humanly 
speaking,   depended    on   the   recognition   of  this   fact ;  and. 


Religion  and  Nationalism.  175 

those  men  who,  in  spite  of  calumny  and  violence,  remained 
firm  in  their  attachment  to  the  great  principles  of  American 
liberty,  protesting  that  they  would  never  admit  that  the 
church  was  an  alien  body  here,  or  that  they,  for  being 
Catholics,  were  the  less  true  and  loyal  American  citizens, 
rendered  a  service,  both  to  the  country  and  to  religion,  for 
which  we  cannot  be  too  grateful.  Among  the  foremost  of 
these  was  Dr.  Spa*lding,  whether  we  consider  the  influence 
of  his  example  or  that  of  his  writings.  "  Born  and  reared 
up  in  this  free  country,"  he  says,  in  the  introductory  address 
to  the  Miscellanea,  written  in  1855,  "we  have  doated  from 
infancy  on  the  glorious  principles  embodied  in  our  noble 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  in  those  cognate  ones  set 
forth  in  our  matchless  Constitution.  They  have  been  the 
dream  of  our  youth  and  the  idol  of  our  maturer  years.  And 
we  have  had  abundant  opportunities  to  know  that  those 
whom  choice,  and  not  the  accident  of  birth,  has  made  citi- 
zens of  our  happy  country,  entertain,  without  an  exception 
known  to  us,  a  fond  predilection  for  American  principles 
scarcely  surpassed  in  intensity  by  our  own."  "Who,"  he 
asks,  in  answer  to  the  charge  that  Catholics  cannot,  con- 
sistently with  their  principles,  be  good  citizens  of  a  repub- 
lican government — "  who  originated  all  the  free  principles 
that  lie  at  the  basis  of  our  own  noble  Constitution  ?  Who 
gavie  us  trial  by  jury,  habeas  corpus,  stationary  courts,  and 
the  principle  for  which  we  fought  and  conquered  in  our 
Revolutionary  struggle  with  Protestant  England  —  that 
taxes  are  not  to  be  levied  without  the  free  consent  of  those 
who  pay  them  ?  Are  we  indebted  to  Protestantism  for  even, 
one  of  these  cardinal  elements  of  free  government  ?  No  ; 
not  for  one.  They  all  date  back  to  the  good  old  Catholic 
times  in  the  Middle  Ages — some  three  hundred  years  before 
the  dawn  of  the  Reformation." 

And  again  :    "  We  are  indebted  to  Catholics  for  all  the 


i'j6  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

jepviblics  which  ever  existed  in  Christian  times  down  to  the 
year  1776 — for  those  of  Switzerland,  Venice,  Genoa,  An- 
dorra, San  Marino,  and  a  host  of  free  commonwealths  which 
■sprang  up  in  the  '  dark  '  ages.  Some  of  these  republics 
lingered  until  a  comparatively  recent  date  ;  some  still  exist, 
proud  monuments  and  unanswerable  evidences  of  Catholic 
devotion  to  freedom." 

To  those  who  feared  a  conflict  of  races  and  danger  to  the 
.country  from  the  increasing  influx  of  emigrants,  he  said  : 
"  The  surest  safeguard  against  (danger  of  this  kind,  if  it  really 
existed,  was  to  be  found  in  the  Catholic  Church,  the  tcn- 
<dency  of  whose  institutions  is  to  break  down  all  barriers  of 
separate  nationalities,  and  to  bring  about  a  brotherhood  of 
.citizens  in  which  the  love  of  the  common  country  would 
.absorb  every  lesser  feeling. 

"  Catholicity  is  of  no  nation,  of  no  language,  of  no  peo- 
ple ;  she  knows  no  geographical  bounds  ;  she  breaks  down 
all  the  walls  of  separation  between  race  and  race,  and  she 
.looks  alike  upon  every  people  and  tribe  and  caste.  Her 
views  are  as  large  as  the  territory  which  she  inhabits,  and 
.this  is  as  wide  as  the  world.  Jew  and  Gentile,  Greek  and 
Barbarian,  Irish,  German,  French,  English,  and  American 
^are  all  alike  to  her.  In  this  country,  to  which  people  of  so 
many  nations  have  flocked  for  shelter  against  the  evils  which 
.they  endured  at  home,  we  have  a  striking  illustration  of  this 
truly  catholic  spirit  of  the  church.  Germans,  Irish,  French, 
Italians,  Spaniards,  Poles,  Hungarians,  Hollanders,  Belgians, 
English,  Scotch,  and  Welsh,  differing  in  language,  in  na- 
tional customs,  in  prejudice — in  everything  human — are  here 
brought  together  in  the  same  church,  professing  the  same 
faith,  and  worshipping  like  brothers  at  the  same  altars.  The 
evident  tendency  of  this  principle  is  to  level  all  sectional 
feelings  and  local  prejudices  by  enlarging  the  views  of  man- 
kind, and  thus  to  bring  about  harmony  in  society,  based 


Religion  and  Nationalism.  177 

upon  mutual  forbearance  and  charity.  And  in  fact,  so  far  as 
the  influence  of  the  church  has  been  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  anomalous  condition  of  society  in  America,  it  has  been 
exercised  for  securing  the  desirable  result  of  causing  all  its 
heterogeneous  elements  to  merge  into  the  one  varied  yet 
homogeneous  nationality.  Protestantism  isolates  and  di- 
vides ;  Catholicity  brings  together  and  unites.  Such  have 
been  the  results  of  the  two  systems  in  times  past  ;  such, 
from  their  very  nature,  must  be  their  influence  on  society  at 
all  times  and  in  all  places."  * 

Dr.  Spalding  was  not  content  with  denying  that  the  church 
is  incompatible  with  republicanism,  or  hostile  to  true  liberty, 
but  he  maintained  that  the  spirit  of  Catholicity  is  in  perfect 
harmony  with  the  wants  and  institutions  of   our  country, 
whereas  between  them  and  Protestantism  there  is  an  innate 
opposition.     He  looked  upon  this  country  as  the  hope  of 
the  future,  both  in  religion  and  in  civil  government,  firmly 
persuaded,  however,  that  in  the  Catholic  Church  alone  could 
be  found  those  principles  of  union  and  strength  which  would 
secure  permanency  to  its  institutions  ;    and,  in  his  untiring 
efforts  to  build  up  and  firmly  establish  the  church  here,  he 
was  sustained  by  the  generous  conviction  that  he  was  labor- 
ing, not  only  for  the  highest  interests  of  religion,  but  also  for 
the  true  welfare  of  his  country.     This  great  nation,  he  was 
persuaded,  needed  a  great  religion,  and  consequently  could 
not  long  remain  satisfied  with  the  divided  and  fragmentary 
Christianity  of  Protestantism.     No  one,  however,  could  be 
more  opposed  than  he  to  the  introduction  of  nationalism 
into  religion.     The  church,  as  he  said,  is  of  no  nation,  and 
this  is  one  of  the  marks  of  her  divinity  ;    and  hence,  he  not 
only  applauded  the  sublime  spectacle  of   the  union  of  all 
nationalities  in  the  one  faith  here,  but  deprecated,  as  fraught 
with  the  most   serious  danger,  any   attempt   to  introduce 

*  Miscellanea — Introductory  Address,  p.  57. 


178  Life  of  ArchbisJwp  Spaldinji^, 

among  the  Catholics  of  this  country  the  question  of  nation- 
ahty.  To  urge  CathoHcs  as  citizens  to  identify  themselves, 
with  the  American  nation,  and  to  take  a  living  interest  in 
the  affairs  of  the  country,  was  one  thing ;  but  it  would  have- 
been  something  quite  different  to  hold  that  it  was  their  duty 
to  seek  to  build  up  here  a  national  church  differing  in  spirit, 
institutions,  or  traditions  from  the  church  universal.  Dr.. 
Spalding  was  an  American  and  a  Catholic ;  but,  as  his  faith 
did  not  interfere  with  his  devotion  to  his  country,  so  neither 
did  thai  devotion  in  any  way  modify  his  religious  convic- 
tions. In  fact,  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  look  upon  the 
church  from  a  merely  national  stand-point,  or  to  seek  to 
compress  Catholic  truth  into  the  narrow  mould  of  national- 
ism. No  one  knew  better  than  he  the  evil  influences  of 
exaggerated  nationalism  when  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
church. 

To  make  religion  national  would  have  been,  in  his  eyes,. 
a  return  to  the  pagan  theory,  in  which  the  church  was 
absorbed  in  the  state.     Before  Christ,  religion  existed  only 

-r. 

as  a  state  institution,  and  to  have  any  other  than  the  na- 
tional religion  was  not  only  heresy  but  treason.  This  nar- 
rowness was  not  hurtful  to  religion  alone,  but  also  greatly 
helped  to  produce  that  hatred  amongst  nations  which  is 
characteristic  of  all  antiquity.  The  pagan  state  could  have 
no  conception  of  a  Catholic  and  unnational  religioi-i — a  re- 
ligion which,  being  the  exclusive  privilege  of  no  people,  is 
equally  true  and  salutary  for  all  nations  and  for  all  ages. 
Eve-n  the  Jewish  religion  was  national.  Jehovah  was  the 
God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob — of  the  Jew,  and 
not  of  the  Gentile.  Hence,  even  among  the  Jews  we  do 
not  find  the  idea  of  a  catholic  religion.  Their  view  was 
that  men  should  adore  in  Jerusalem,  and  they  knew  not 
that  the  day  would  come  when  the  true  worshippers  of  God 
would  adore  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  without  distinction 


Religion  and  Nationalism.  179 

of  place  or  people.     Unfortunately,  the  tendency  to  nation- 
alize religion  did  not  die  with  the  birth  of  Christ. 

It  was  precisely  this  spirit  which  first  led  to  the  persecu- 
tion of  the  Christians.  The  Christian  church,  in  Rome,  did 
not  claim  to  be  a  national,  but  a  catholic  religion,  and  the 
Christians  were  held  to  be  enemies  of  the  state,  because 
their  religion  was  not  that  of  the  state.  They  could  not  be 
good  citizens  of  the  Empire,  it  was  argued,  because  they  did 
not  profess  the  religion  of  the  Empire,  and  refused  to  sacri- 
fice to  the  divinity  of  Caesar.  Hence  they  were  butchered, 
quartered,  thrown  to  the  wild  beasts  in  the  amphitheatre, 
under  the  approving  eyes  of  the  worshippers  of  the  state 
gods. 

This  same  cause  lies  at  the  root  of  most  of  the  heresies 
and  schisms  which  have  disturbed  the  church.  The  heresies- 
of  Nestorius  and  Eutyches  were  national  heresies,  the  genu- 
ine offspring  of  the  Greek  mind  and  spirit,  as  opposed  to 
that  of  the  universal  church  ;  and  the  separation  of  the 
Greek  Church  from  the  Church  Catholic  was  effected  almost 
solely  by  national  and  political  influences.  The  dogmatic 
differences  supposed  to  have  existed  between  the  two 
churches  were  merely  shallow  pretexts. 

The  Russian  schism  is  attributable  to  the  same  cause. 
The  great  schism  of  the  West  in  the  fourteenth  century 
was  likewise  produced  by  this  exaggerated  spirit  of  national- 
ism in  religion.  France  desired  to  get  possession  of  the 
Papacy,  to  make  the  pope  a  French  pope,  and  the  Papacy  a 
French  institution  ;  and  the  result  was  a  disturbance  in  the 
whole  Catholic  world,  the  evil  effects  of  which  have  not  even 
yet  wholly  disappeared.  The  politico-religious  movement 
of  the  sixteenth  century  was,  in  principle  and  in  fact,  a 
reaction  against  the  universal  church  in  favor  of  the  na- 
tional state-church  theory.  Lutheranism  was  Germanism, 
and  when  Protestantism  went  outside  of  Germany  and  the 


i8o  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

Teutonic  race,  it  ceased  to  be  Lutheranism.  Anglicanism, 
as  the  name  indicates,  is  based  on  the  identification  of  the 
national  and  religious  spirit.  "  The  Church  of  England," 
says  Macaulay,  "  is  an  institution  as  purely  local  as  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas."  It  was  created  by  the  law,  is 
upheld  by  the  law,  and  may  be  abolished  by  the  law.  It 
owes  its  very  existence  to  the  morbid  national  sensitiveness 
of  Englishmen. 

The  persecution  of  the  church  in  Germany,  to-day,  is  but 
a  renewal  of  the  attempt  to  nationalize  religion,  and  it  has 
been  made  possible  by  the  outburst  of  national  feeling  con- 
sequent upon  the  success  of  German  arms.  The  church 
being  universal.  Dr.  Spalding  held  that  she  is  beyond  and 
above  all  nationalities,  and  he  therefore,  as  a  Catholic, 
viewed  man  from  a  higher  stand-point  than  that  granted 
to  those  who  look  upon  him  merely  as  a  citizen  of  the 
state. 

Multiplicity  of  languages  and  differences  of  race  are  not, 
as  he  considered  them,  primitive  facts,  but  are  consequent 
upon  sin  ;  and  therefore  the  church,  which  rehabilitates  man 
as  a  child  of  God,  should  also  enable  him  to  approach  to 
his  normal  condition  as  a  citizen  of  the  world,  in  which  all 
national  divisions  and  hatreds  will  be  merged  in  the  bro- 
therhood of  the  race,  made  a  living  fact  by  the  fuller  realiza- 
tion of  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  motherhood  of  the 
one  universal  church. 

And  probably  not  the  least  important  mission  of  this 
country,  where  all  the  races  of  Europe  are  thrown  together 
in  friendly  contact,  is  to  help  on  this  great  work.  However 
this  may  be,  we  cannot  but  see  a  most  hopeful  sign  for  the 
future  in  the  dying  out  of  the  spirit  of  exaggerated  nation- 
alism, and  the  breaking  down  of  the  barriers  which  separate 
the  peoples  of  the  earth,  which,  among  other  good  results, 
will  have  the  effect  to  diminish  the  antagonism  which  has 


The  Knozv- Nothing  Conspiracy.  i8i 

always  existed  between  a  false  nationalism  and  the  catholic 
spirit  of  the  church,  thus  rendering  her  progress  more  cer- 
tain, and  less  liable  to  be  disturbed  by  heresy  or  schism. 

In  this  country,  attempts  have  been  made  from  time  to 
time,  as  I  have  already  stated,  to  place  the  national  spirit  in 
opposition  to  the  church,  but  their  miserable  failure  has 
taught  the  judicious,  at  least,  the  futility  of  such  efforts. 

Bishop  Spalding  was  witness  of  the  rise  and  downfall  of 
the  most  fanatical  party  which  has  sought  to  destroy  the 
church  in  the  United  States,  by  rousing  against  it  the  spirit 
of  a  false  and  narrow  nationalism.  Two  great  political 
parties  had  for  a  number  of  years  contended  with  alternate 
success  for  the  control  of  national  affairs,  when  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  question  of  slavery  into  the  Whig  party  led  to 
discord  and  divisions  which  finally  caused  its  dissolution  in 
1854-55.  Between  these  two  parties,  the  foreign  population 
of  the  country  had  hild  the  balance  of  power,  and  hence  the 
foreign  vote  had  come  to  be  looked  on  as  forming  a  distinct 
and  separate  element  in  American  politics. 

This,  together  with  other  causes,  had  given  birth  to  the 
Native  American  Party,  which,  however,  had  little  or  no 
influence  in  the  direction  of  national  affairs.  As  most  of  the 
foreign  voters  in  the  United  States  were  Democrats,  there 
existed  a  natural  sympathy  between  the  Whig  party  and 
tlfe  Native  American  faction.  Henry  Clay,  the  great  leader 
of  the  Whigs,  confessed  the  Native  American  sympathies 
of  his  party,  in  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  John  J.  Critten- 
den in  1844,  just  after  the  famous  Presidential  campaign  in 
which  the  Democrats  had  triumphed  by  the  aid  of  the  for- 
eign vote. 

"  There  is  a  great  tendency  among  the  Whigs,"  wrote 
Mr.  Clay,  "  to  unfurl  the  banner  of  the  Native  American 
party.  Whilst  I  own  I  have  great  sympathy  with  thai 
party,  I  do  not  perceive  the  wisdom,  at  present,  either  of 


1 82  Life  of  ArchblsJiop  Spalding. 

the  Whigs  absorbing  it  or  being  absorbed  by  it.  If  either 
of  these  contingencies  were  to  happen,  our  adversaries 
would  charge  that  it  was  the  same  old  party  with  a  new 
name,  or  with  a  new  article  added  to  its  creed.  In  the 
meantime,  they  would  retain  all  the  foreign  vote,  which  they 
have  consolidated,  make  constant  further  accessions,  and 
perhaps  regain  their  members  who  have  joined  the  Native 
American  party.  I  am  disposed  to  think  that  it  is  best  for 
each  party,  the  Whigs  and  the  Natives,  to  retain  their  re- 
spective organizations  distinct  from  each  other,  and  to  culti- 
vate friendly  relations  together."  * 

When,  at  length,  in  consequence  of  the  death  of  Clay,  the 
disastrous  defeat  of  General  Scott  in  the  Presidential  cam- 
paign of  1852,  and  its  own  internal  dissensions,  the  Whig 
party  became  thoroughly  disorganized,  it  is  not  astonishing 
that  its  members  should  have  very  generally  sought  refuge 
in  the  Native  American  party. 

It  was  necessary,  however,  to  find  something  more  than 
mere  opposition  to  the  foreigner.  The  foreign  population 
was,  to  a  great  extent.  Catholic  ;  and  the  Bedini  riots  and 
the  No-popery  fanaticism  which  the  infidel  refugees  of  1848 
had  succeeded  in  exciting,  led  the  organizers  of  the  new 
party  to  believe  that  opposition  to  the  church  would  increase 
their  chances  of  success. 

The  most  un-American  and  disgraceful  party  which  lias 
blackened  our  political  record  was  accordingly  organized, 
and  Kentucky,  which  had  been  devoted  to  Clay  and  the 
Whig  party,  became  a  stronghold  of  the  Know-Nothing 
conspiracy. 

The  Louisville  Journal,  the  great  organ  of  Clay  and  the 
Whigs,  sold  itself  to  the  new  faction,  and  led  in  the  anti- 
Catholic  crusade.  The  Catholics  of  Kentucky  had  the  right 
to  expect  at  least  courtesy  and  fairness  in  the  attacks  made 
*  Life  of  Crittoiden,  vol.  i.  p.  224. 


The  Know- Nothing  Conspiracy.  183 

upon  themselves  and  their  faith  through  the  columns  of  the 
Journal,  since  many  of  them  had  for  years  been  the  personal 
and  political  friends  of  George  D.  Prentice,  the  editor  of  the 
Know-Nothing  organ.  Unfortunately,  we  do  not  need  this 
■example  to  show  how  utterly  base  and  vulgar  political  jour- 
nalism is  capable  of  becoming,  when  the  exigencies  of  party 
demand  the  sacrifice  of  principle  and  decency. 

To  stir  up  the  Protestants  of  Kentucky  to  fanatical  hatred, 
not  only  of  the  church,  but  of  Catholics,  whether  native  or 
foreign,  the  vilest  calumnies,  the  most  absurd  imputations, 
the  most  palpable  lies,  were  repeated  day  after  day  in  the 
columns  of  this  newspaper,  in  a  style  which,  in  power  of  sar- 
casm and  invective,  in  wealth  of  the  vulgar  comparisons  and 
analogies  which  please  the  multitude,  has  rarely  been  sur- 
passed. 

By  a  remarkable  confusion  of  the  sexes  and  disregard  of 
the  propriety  of  things,  the  church  was  transformed  into 
"the  man  of  sin  "  and  "  the  woman  of  Babylon,"  "  the  son 
of  perdition  "  and  "  the  mother  of  harlots,"  "  antichrist" 
and  "  the  mystery  of  iniquity."  She  was  held  responsible 
for  each  particular  crime  that  unfaithful  and  disobedient 
Catholics  had  ever  committed. 

She  was  made  to  answer  for  the  Spanish  Inquisition, 
against  the  cruelties  of  which  she  had  repeatedly  protested  ; 
for  the  Saint  Bartholomew  Massacre,  with  which  she  had 
had  nothing  to  do  ;  for  the  Gunpowder  Plot,  the  work  of 
three  or  four  misguided  men.  She  was  represented  as  the 
enemy  of  liberty  and  education,  as  gloating  over  the  miseries 
and  misfortunes  of  humanity — in  a  word,  as  fiendish  in  all 
her  aims  and  purposes.  The  American  bishops,  it  was  as- 
serted, were  the  secret  political  emissaries  of  the  Pope,  and 
were  plotting  the  overthrow  of  the  government  and  the 
destruction  of  American  liberty. 

In   the   excited   state  of  the  public   mind  this  nonsense 


184  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

passed  current,  and  led  to  those  scenes  of  violence  and 
blood  which,  on  the  5th  of  August,  1855,  blackened  the 
fair  name  of  Louisville  by  deeds  which,  in  cruelty  and  heart- 
lessness,  have  not  been  surpassed  in  the  annals  of  the  North 
American  Indians.  Into  the  details  of  that  day's  history  I 
have  no  desire  to  enter,  except  as  they  directly  relate  to  the 
life  of  Bishop  Spalding. 

The  insane  rumor  had  been  circulated — and  it  was  believed 
by  the  rabble,  which  had  been  wrought  upon  to  frenzy  by 
designing  men — that  Bishop  Spalding  had  organized  the 
Catholics  of  the  city,  and  that  they  were  prepared  to  defend 
themselves  on  the  day  of  the  election.  Arms,  it  was  said, 
had  been  stored  away  in  various  churches,  and  especially  in 
the  basement  and  tower  of  the  cathedral. 

About  noon  on  "  Bloody  Monday,"  as  the  day  is  still 
called  in  Kentucky,  the  mob  was  hurrying  through  Shelby 
Street  to  St.  Martin's  church,  with  the  intention  of  burning 
it,  when  John  Barbee,  the  mayor  of  the  city,  and  one  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Know-Nothing  party,  arrived  and  sought  to 
dissuade  them.  His  efforts  were  for  a  time  ineffectual,  but 
the  leaders  finally  consented  to  remain  quiet  until  the  church 
could  be  searched.  The  mayor  brought  back  word  that  no- 
arms  had  been  found,  and  persuaded  the  mob,  after  having 
assured  them  that  they  had  already  elected  their  candidates, 
to  withdraw  under  the  command  of  Captain  Rousseau. 
During  the  afternoon  and  evening  of  the  same  day,  threats 
and  movements  were  made  which  showed  that  the  mad 
rabble  had  designs  against  the  cathedral.  The  mayor  was 
informed  of  this,  and,  together  with  two  councilmen,  he 
waited  on  Bishop  Spalding,  and  asked  to  be  allowed  to 
search  the  building  in  order  to  satisfy  the  mob.  Permission 
was  granted,  and  the  mayor  and  councilmen,  after  fulfilling 
their  mission,  issued  the  following  notice,  which  probably 
saved  the  cathedral  from  destruction  : 


''Bloody  Monday:'  185 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  have  in  person  carefully  examined 

the  cathedral,  and  do  assure  the  community  that   there  are 

neither  men  nor  arms  concealed  there  ;  and,   further,  that 

the  keys  of  said  cathedral  on  Fifth  Street  are  in  the  hands 

of  the  city  authorities. 

John  Barbee,  Mayor. 

T.  W.  Reilly,  I  ^         ., 

J.  A.  GiLLis,      [  Councilmen. 

The  Catholic  churches  and  institutions  escaped  destruc- 
tion on  Bloody  Monday,  but  inoffensive  and  peaceable 
Catholics  had  been  murdered  in  cold  blood  in  the  streets ;. 
their  houses  had  been  set  on  fire,  and  when  the  helpless 
inmates  had  sought  to  fly  from  the  flames,  they  were  shot 
down  by  fiends  who  stood  around  to  see  that  none  should 
escape.  "  We  have  just  passed  through  a  reign  of  terror," 
wrote  Bishop  Spalding  to  Archbishop  Kenrick,  "  surpassed 
only  by  the  Philadelphia  riots.  Nearly  an  hundred  poor 
Irish  and  Germans  have  been  butchered  or  burned,  and 
some  twenty  houses  have  been  consumed  in  the  flames^ 
The  city  authorities — all  Know-Nothings — looked  calmly 
on,  and  they  are  now  endeavoring  to  lay  the  blame  on  the 
Catholics." 

The  Journal,  indeed,  sought  to  shift  the  responsibility  of 
these  atrocious  crimes  to  the  shoulders  of  the  Catholics,, 
who,  it  was  hinted,  had  been  urged  on  by  the  Bishop  and 
priests. 

This  base  calumny  was  published  while  the  city  was  still 
under  a  reign  of  terror,  and  when  it  was  feared  that  the 
mob  would  yet  burn  all  the  Catholic  churches.  Indeed, 
the  threats  to  burn  the  cathedral  were  repeated  the  morning, 
after  its  publication  ;  and  on  the  same  day  over  a  hundred 
German  families,  in  dread  of  their  lives,  left  the  city,  whilst 
others  were  preparing  to  leave. 


1 86  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

The  following  "  card,"  in  answer  to  the  charge  nnade  by 
the  Journal,  was  written  by  Bishop  Spalding  when  there 
was  still  the  greatest  fear  that  the  bloody  scenes  of  Monday 
should  be  renewed : 

"  TO   THE   PUBLIC. 

"  Fellow-citizens  :  In  the  Louisville  Journal  of  this 
morning  I  find  the  following  passage :  *  We  are  not  now 
prepared  to  say  that  they'  (assaults  committed  by  for- 
eigners) '  .  .  .  .  were  instigated  by  the  direct  instruc- 
tions of  men  with  fiendish  hearts,  who  control,  in  a  great 
measure,  the  passions,  and  are  able  to  dictate  the  actions, 
•of  the  Germans  and  Irish  who  made  these  attacks.'  If,  as 
some  have  understood  it,  this  passage  was  meant  to  refer  to 
the  Bishop  and  the  priests  of  this  city,  I  beg  respectfully, 
but  most  distinctly  and  earnestly,  to  deny  the  truth  of  the 
injurious  insinuation  conveyed  by  its  language.  I  have  my- 
self been,  until  the  last  day  or  two,  confined  to  my  room  for 
two  weeks  by  illness ;  and  I  have  the  most  positive  infor- 
mation that  none  of  the  Catholic  clergy  of  this  city  have  had 
.any  agency,  direct  or  indirect,  in  bringing  about  the  recent 
lamentable  outrages,  which  no  one  deplores  more  than  we 
do.  Our  voice  has  been  uniformly  for  peace.  We  have  not 
even  in  any  way  interfered  with  the  late  election,  being 
overwhelmed  with  laborious  duties  in  an  altogether  differ- 
■ent  sphere.  I  venture,  also,  to  appeal  to  the  sense  of 
justice  and  fairness  manifested  for  so  many  years  by  the 
editor  of  the  Journal,  and  to  ask  him  to  correct  an  impres- 
sion so  injurious  to  us,  if  such  was  the  meaning  of  the  pas- 
sage, which  I  am  loath  to  believe.  To  all  whom  the  influence 
of  my  voice  can  in  any  way  reach,  I  beg  to  say  that  I 
entreat  them,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  God  of 
peace,  to  abstain  from  all  violence ;  to  remain  quietly  at 
liome  or  attending  to  their  business  ;  to  keep  away  from  all 


''Bloody  Monday''  187 

excited  assemblies,  and,  if  they  think  they  have  been  in- 
jured, to  return  good  for  evil,  and  to  pray  for  those  who 
have  wronged  them.  I  appeal  to  them  and  the  world, 
whether  this  has  not  always  been  the  tenor  of  my  instruc- 
tions to  them,  both  public  and  private,  and  also  that  of  all 
the  Catholic  clergy.  I  have  too  high  an  opinion  of  my 
fellow-citizens  of  every  class  to  believe  for  a  moment  that 
the  threats  which  have  been  made  by  some  will  be  carried 
out.  I  entreat  all  to  pause  and  reflect,  to  commit  no  vio- 
lence, to  believe  no  idle  rumors,  and  to  cultivate  that  peace 
and  love  which  are  the  characteristics  of  the  religion  of 
Christ.  We  are  to  remain  on  earth  but  a  few  years:  let 
us  not  add  to  the  necessary  ills  of  life  those  more  awful 
ones  of  civil  feuds  and  bloody  strife. 

4*  M.  J.  Spalding. 

"Louisville,  August  7,  1855."* 

*  From  the  Hon.  B.  J.  Webb  I  have  learned  that  four  of  the  leaders 
of  the  Know-Nothing  party  in  Louisville  afterwards  expressed  in  his  pres- 
ence sincere  regret  that  they  had  ever  had  any  connection  with  the  move- 
ment. As  none  of  them  are  now  living,  I  may  be  allowed  to  state  that  the 
persons  referred  to  were  George  D.  Prentice,  General  Humphrey  Marshall, 
Mayor  Barbee,  and  Judge  Caleb  W.  Logan.  The  last-named  of  these  gen- 
tlemen wrote  the  articles  in  the  Journal  in  reply  to  the  "  Letters  of  a  Kentucky 
Catholic,"  in  which  Mr.  Webb  has  so  ably  defended  the  church  against  the 
charges  made  by  the  Know-Nothing  press. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

THE    "  MISCELLANEA  " — CONTROVERSY     WITH     PROFESSOR 

MORSE. 

NE  who  knew  Bishop  Spalding  intimately,  and; 
who  was  with  him  almost  daily  during  the  anti- 
Catholic  agitation  in  Louisville,  has  told  me 
that  he  observed  in  him,  in  the  many  embarrass- 
ing and  trying  circumstances  in  which  he  was  then  placed, 
a  more  than  usual  peace  of  mind.  He  spent  the  greater 
part  of  his  moments  of  leisure  in  the  sanctuary  in  prayer, 
and  seemed,  through  communion  with  God,  to  grow  un- 
conscious of  the  trouble  which  men  were  seeking  to  bring, 
upon  the  church,  and  which  he  could  not  but  feel  most 
keenly. 

There  was  not  even  the  shadow  of  a  pretext  for  accusing, 
him  of  meddling  with  political  affairs.  "  We  ourselves,"  he 
wrote  at  this  time,  "  '  though  native  here  and  -to  the  manner 
born,'  have  never  even  voted  on  a  political  question,  and 
we  believe  that  most  of  our  brother  prelates  and  clergymen 
have  adopted  the  same  prudent  precaution;  not,  surely, 
through  any  want  of  interest  in  the  country,  but  chiefly 
with  a  view  to  remove  from  the  enemies  of  our  church  the 
slightest  pretext  for  slandering  our  religious  character. 
The  only  influence  we  have  sought  to  bring  to  bear  on 
the  members  of  our  communion  has  been  invariably  in  the 
interests  of  peace,  of  order,  and  of  charity  for  all  men,  even: 
for  our  most  bitter  enemies.  Whenever  we  have  had  occa- 
sion to  address  our  people  on  the  eve  of  elections,  we  have 


The  ''Miscellanea^'  189 

counselled  them  to  avoid  all  violence,  to  beware  of  being 
carried  away  by  passion,  to  be  temperate,  to  respect  the 
feelings  and  principles  of  their  opponents,  and,  in  the 
exercise  of  their  franchise  as  citizens,  to  vote  conscien- 
tiously for  the  men  and  measures  they  might  think  most 
likely  to  advance  the  real  and  permanent  interests  of  the 
Republic."  * 

The  views  of  Archbishop  Hughes  on  this  important  sub- 
ject do  not  differ  from  those  advanced  by  Bishop  Spalding 
in  the  words  just  quoted.  "  I  hold,"  he  wrote,  "and  have 
ever  held,  that  the  position  of  a  clergyman  forbids  him 
from  taking  any  active  part  in  such  questions  (political),  and 
that  he  could  not  be  a  partisan  without  at  once  endangering 
and  degrading  his  influence  as  a  priest."  And  again  :  "  My 
own  principles  are,  that  the  American  people  are  able  in 
their  own  way  to  manage  their  affairs  of  state,  without  any 
guidance  or  instruction  toward  any  class  or  religious  denomi- 
nation, by  either  priests  or  parsons. "f 

It  was  during  the  anti-Catholic  agitation  of  1855  that 
Bishop  Spalding  published  his  Miscellanea. 

It  would  have  been  difficult  to  give  to  Americans  a  book 
better  suited  to  the  wants  of  the  then  existing  state  of  the 
public  mind.  The  Catholic  question  was  supreme  both  in 
church  and  state.  It  was  discussed  everywhere ;  in  bar- 
rooms, conventicles,  lodges,  meeting-houses ;  in  the  parlors 
of  the  rich  and  around  the  humble  hearthstones  of  the  poor. 
Men  who  had  never  given  religion  a  thought  in  their  lives  ; 
who  knew  nothing  of  God  or  Christ,  and  who  did  not  care 
to  know  ;  who  had  never  even  once  entered  a  church,  took 
sides,  and  were  loud  in  denouncing  or  defending  the  Catho- 
lic Church.     But  the  question  with  them  was  not   one  of 


*  Miscellanea — Introductory  Address,  p.  54. 
\Life  by  Hassard,  pp.  377,  378. 


190  Life  of  Archbishop  Spaldiiig. 

religion,  for  had  it  been  it  would  not  have  interested  theni 
at  all.  Little  did  they  care,  for  the  most  part,  which  was 
the  true  church,  or  whether  there  was  any  true  church.  It 
was  not  a  question  of  salvation,  but  of  election.  Yet  both 
they  who  attacked  and  they  who  defended  were  in  earnest, 
not  indeed  that  they  might  find  the  truth,  but  that  they 
might  win  the  victory. 

For  the  first  time  since  the  Reformation,  vast  numbers  of 
Protestants  were  examining  into  the  history  of  the  church,, 
with  a  view  of  defending  her  against  the  traditional  objec- 
tions of  Protestantism  itself.  The  prevailing  prejudices  of 
the  non-Catholic  mind  had  given  to  the  controversy  its 
shape  and  bearing.  The  church  was  arraigned  before  the 
tribunal  of  public  opinion,  and  both  the  indictment  and  the 
defence  regarded  her  not  in  her  relations  to  truth  and  the 
soul,  but  in  her  influence  upon  society  and  the  American 
Republic.  That  her  whole  history  proved  her  to  be  in 
opposition  with  the  principles  of  liberty,  enlightenment, 
and  progress ;  that  the  allegiance  which  her  children  owed 
to  the  spiritual  authority  was  incompatible  with  their  duties 
to  their  country ;  that  she  had,  whenever  it  had  been  in  her 
power  to  do  so,  persecuted  and  employed  the  most  cruel 
means  to  perpetuate  her  rule  ;  that  many  of  her  doctrines 
and  practices  were  immoral,  and  consequently  dangerous  to 
society — such  were  the  chief  heads  of  accusation  which  her 
opponents  sought  to  make  good  against  her ;  whilst,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  became  the  political  duty  of  numberless  Pro- 
testants to  show  that  these  charges  were  without  foundation 
in  fact,  and  were  based  on  a  misconception  of  her  history 
and  a  false  interpretation  of  her  doctrines  and  practices. 
Now,  the  essays  and  reviews  comprised  in  the  Miscellanea- 
furnished  an  array  of  facts  and  arguments  bearing  upon  all 
these  points  which  could  not  be  found  in  any  other  one  book 
in  the  English  language  ;  and  they  had  the  additional  merit 


y 


Controversy  zvitJi  Professor  Morse.  191 

of  a  free,  off-hand,  straightforward  style,  peculiarly  suited 
to  the  American  taste.  They  covered  the  whole  ground 
of  what  was  then  the  Catholic  controversy  in  the  United 
States,  and,  by  facts  resting  upon  unexceptional  testimony, 
by  arguments  which  appeal  at  once  to  the  good  sense,  and 
fair-mindedness  of  the  reader,  and  by  the  whole  spirit  and 
temper  in  which  they  are  written,  furnish  a  defence  of  the 
church,  as  against  the  attacks  of  her  accusers,  the  strength 
of  which  could  not  be  easily  broken.  It  was  also  at  this 
time,  and  by  the  prevailing  temper  of  public  feeling,  that 
Bishop  Spalding  was  forced  into  a  controversy  with  Pro- 
fessor Morse  concerning  the  authenticity  of  the  motto 
attributed  to  Lafayette  :  "  If  ever  the  liberties  of  the 
United  States  be  destroyed,  it  will  be  the  work  of  Romish 
priests." 

Little  did  it  matter  whether  Lafayette  had  or  had  not 
said  this.  Things  as  bad  had  been  said  of  Catholic  priests, 
time  and  again,  by  better  men  than  he,  who,  to  take  the 
most  favorable  view  of  his  character,  was  remarkable  rather 
for  noble  impulse  than  for  sound  judgment  or  far-penetrating 
thought.  If  a  Catholic,  as  Bishop  Spalding  put  the  case,  he 
could  not  have  given  expression  to  the  sentiment  contained 
in  the  motto  without  being  a  hypocrite  ;  if  an  infidel,  his 
opinion  has  no  more  weight  than  that  of  Voltaire  or  Tom 
Paine.     He  was  certainly  not  a  Protestant.* 

*  Shortly  after  Archbishop  Spalding's  death,  Professor  Morse  wrote  a  letter 
to  the  New  York  Herald,  in  which  he  claimed  to  have  won  the  victory  in 
this  controversy.  "I  retracted  nothing,"  he  says,  "for  I  had  nothing  to 
retract."  And  again  :  "  I  also  asserted  and  proved  that  Lafayette  had  used 
nearly  the  very  words  of  the  motto  to  two  Americans,  whose  names  are 
given,  and  in  his  conversations  with  me  had  expressed  the  same  sentiments." 
Professor  Morse  has  since  died,  and  as,  by  his  last  words  on  this  subject,. 
he  has  sought  to  produce  the  impression  that  he  had  established  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  motto  attributed  to  Lafayette,  I  deem  it  proper  to  refer  briefly 


192  Life  of  Archbishop   Spalding. 

In  the  spring  and  summer  of  1855,  this  supposed  motto 
of  Lafayette  stared  one  in  the  face,  dressed  out  in  all  the 
impudence  of  type,  from  the  headings  of  newspapers  innu- 
merable, and  from  the  title-pages  of  countless  no-popery 
pamphlets.  At  political  gatherings  and  in  torchlight  pro- 
cessions, like  a  thing  of  evil,  it  was  seen  following  the  Ameri- 
can flag,  which,  as  if  conscious  of  the  impending  danger  from 
popish  priests,  refused  to  float  on  the  breeze.  In  the  "  In- 
troductory Address  "  prefixed  to  the  Miscellanea,  which,  as 
I  have  said,  appeared  during  the  excitement  of  the  Know- 
Nothing  conspiracy,  Bishop  Spalding  had  taken  occasion  to 
state,  upon  the  authority  of  a  leading  political  paper  in  Cin- 
cinnati, which  was  distinctly  referred  to  in  a  foot-note,  that 
a  letter  written  by  Lafayette  had  been  brought  to  light,  in 
which  he  denied  ever  having  used  the  words  of  the  motto. 

This  was  more  than  could  be  patiently  borne  with.  No 
attention  was  paid  to  the  writer  in  the  Cincinnati  Enquirer, 
who  was  alone  responsible  ;  but  Bishop  Spalding  was  as- 
sailed by  three  reverend  preachers,  who  pronounced  him 
guilty  of  a  "  most  high-handed  and  daring  attempt  to 
falsify  history";  of  "  villany,  mendacity,  and  literary 
forgery." 

The  only  reply  which  Bishop  Spalding  made  to  these 
charges  was  to  publish  the  article  to  which  he  had  referred 
in  the  "  Address,"  with  the  remark  that,  having  given  his 
authority  in  the  first  instance,  his  readers  were  at  liberty  to 
place  what  value  they  might  see  fit  upon  it  :  the  most  that 
could  be  said  was  that  it  was  of  no  weight.  But  to  de- 
nounce him  as  these  reverend  gentlemen  had  done,  was 
simply  absurd,  and  he  was  resolved  to  take  no  further  notice 
of  charges  so  utterly  groundless.      If  his  accusers  desired  to 

to  the  leading  points  in  the  controversy  between  himself  and  Bishop  Spald- 
ing. This  controversy  was  not  sought  by  Bishop  Spalding  ;  he  never  sought 
controversy  with  any  one  ;  it  was  thrust  upon  him. 


Co7itroversy  zvith  Professor  Morse.  193 

enter  into  a  controversy  concerning  the  authenticity  o!  the 
letter  in  question,  he  referred  them  to  the  editors  of  the 
newspaper  in  which  it  had  first  been  pubhshed. 

As  the  Bishop's  doughty  assailants  found  themse'ves 
headed  off  in  this  direction,  they  at  once  set  to  work  to 
move  on  him  from  some  other  point. 

:  To  Professor  Morse,  who  had  gained  considerable  noto- 
riety by  a  very  successful  application  of  the  discoveries  of 
others  in  his  method  of  telegraphing,  was  generally  ascribed 
the  honor  of  having  discovered  or  invented  this  motto  cf 
Lafayette.  He  had,  in  1836,  edited  a  book  with  this  mott  > 
on  the  title-page  ;  and  in  the  preface  he  had  affirmed  tha"". 
Lafayette  had  made  use  of  the  words  of  the  motto  in  con 
versation  with  himself,  and  that  he  had  expressed  the  sam« 
sentiment  in  speaking  with  other  Americans. 

Professor  Morse  further  stated  that  he  had  received  a 
letter  from  Lafayette  a  few  days  after  his  last  interview 
with  him  in  Paris,  in  which  he  urged  him,  by  his  sacred 
duty  as  an  American  citizen,  to  make  known  to  his  country- 
men the  serious  apprehensions  of  the  French  patriot  of 
danger  to  the  liberties  of  the  Republic  from  the  Catholic 
priesthood. 

As  Professor  Morse  had  thus  become  sponsor  for  the 
motto,  representations  were  made  to  him  to  the  effect  that 
Bishop  Spalding,  by  denying  its  authenticity,  had  impugned 
his  veracity.  He  therefore  reaffirmed  what  he  had  written 
twenty  years  before.  Bishop  Spalding  called  for  the  proof 
of  his  assertions,  and  the  controversy  began. 

Professor  Morse  adduced  in  evidence  the  testimony  of  an 
anonymous  writer,  whose  name  he  was  not  at  liberty  to  give. 
He  then  referred  to  his  own  interviews  with  Lafayette  in 
1831-32  :  "  I  cannot,"  he  said,  "  at  this  distance  of  time,  of 
course  remember  the  identical  words,  but  never  did  he  " 
(Lafayette)  "  manifest  a  doubt  of  the  essential  antagonism 


194  ^tf^  of  Ai'chbisJiop  Spalding. 

of  the  maxims  and  principles  of  the  Papacy  and  those  of 
repubHcanism,  nor  any  doubt,  if  the    Papacy  were  trium- 
phant; republicanism  was  at  an  end." 

At  the  urgent  request  of  Bishop  Spalding,  he  proceeded 
to  confirm  his  statement  by  the  testimony  of  those  other 
Americans  who  had  heard  Lafayette  speak  the  words  in 
question.  He  first  tried  to  find  a  military  officer  in  New 
York  who,  it  was  reported,  had  heard  Lafayette  use  the 
words,  but  this  gentleman  either  could  not  be  found  or 
would  not  testify. 

He  succeeded  better,  however,  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Van- 
pelt,  of  New  York.  This  gentleman  had  a  "  vivid  and 
distinct  "  "remembrance  of  an  interview  with  Lafayette 
shortly  after  his  return  from  Boston  during  his  last  visit 
to  this  country  in   1824.      These  were    Lafayette's  Words: 

**  My  dear  friend,  I  must  tell  you  something  that  occurred 
when  I  was  in  Boston.  I  received  a  polite  invitation  from 
the  chief  Catholic  priest  or  bishop  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  in  Boston,  to  attend  his  church  on  the  Sabbath.  I 
wrote  him  an  apology,  saying,  as  I  never  expect  to  be  \n 
Boston  again,  and  as  during  the  Revolution,  when  in  Boston, 
I  worshipped  sitting  by  the  side  of  his  excellency.  General 
Washington,  and  as  I  see  that  the  church  and  the  pews  are 
the  same,  except  as  they  are  decorated  with  paint,  I  wish  to^ 
occupy  the  same  seat  in  that  church  on  the  Sabbath.  ..." 
And  again  :  "  It  is  my  opinion  that  if  ever  the  liberties  of 
this  country  [the  United  States  of  America]  are  destroyed^ 
it  will  be  by  the  subtlety  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Jesuit 
priests,  for  they  are  the  most  crafty,  dangerous  enemies  to- 
civil  and  religious  liberty."  Such  was  the  testimony  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Vanpelt. 

Professor  Morse  brought  forward  another  witness — a  cer- 
tain Mr.  Palmer,  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  then  proceeded 
*:o  make  good  his  position  by  extracts  from  the  speeches  of 


Controversy  with  Professor  Morse.  195 

Lafayette,  in  which  he  proclaimed  his  opposition  to  a  union 
of  church  and  state,  and  professed  himself  an  ardent  cham- 
pion of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 

This  is  a  brief  statement  of  the  arguments  advanced  by 
Professor  Morse  to  establish  the  authenticity  of  the  motto. 
He  seemed  reluctant  to  give  his  proofs,  and  it  was  only  by 
the  most  searching  cross-questioning  that  they  were  drawn 
from  him. 

Bishop  Spalding  replied  by  taking  up  his  heads  of  argu- 
ment, one  by  one,  and  showing  the  testimony  which  he  had 
given  to  be  valueless,  and  his  reasoning  inconclusive. 

The  anoiiyinoiis  writer,  whose  name  Mr.  Morse  was  not  at 
liberty  to  give,  could  not,  of  course,  be  admitted  as  a  wit- 
ness. Besides,  since  he  was  put  forward  as  an  apostate 
priest,  his  testimony  was  no  more  above  suspicion  than 
would  have  been  that  of  Benedict  Arnold  against  the 
patriots  of  the  Revolution,  or  that  of  Judas  against  Christ 
and  the  apostles. 

The  testimony  of  Mr.  Morse  himself  was  unreliable,  for 
various  reasons. 

By  his  own  confession,  he  was  unable  to  remember  the 
identical  words  spoken  by  Lafayette ;  and  the  general  state- 
ment of  Lafayette's  opinions,  even  if  accurately  made  by 
Mr.  Morse,  did  not  affect  the  question  under  discussion. 
But  Mr.  Morse  had  spoken  of  a  letter  which  he  had  received 
from  Lafayette,  in  which  he  was  urged  to  make  known  to 
the  American  people  the  serious  alarm  of  the  French  patriot 
lest  the  country  should  be  in  danger  from  the  machinations 
of  Romish  priests.  This  letter  Bishop  Spalding  repeatedly 
called  for,  challenging  Professor  Morse  either  to  publish  it 
or  to  produce  the  original  copy.  He  did  neither,  but  vainly 
sought  to  screen  himself  by  declaring  that  he  had  never 
pretended  that  the  motto  was  in  the  letter,  whereas  he  had 
before  affirmed  that  in  it  Lafayette  had  urged  him  to  make 


196  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

known  to  Americans  his  alarm  lest  the  liberties  of  the  Re- 
public should  be  destroyed  by  Catholic  priests. 

Professor  Morse  averred  afterwards  that  this  letter  had 
been  seen  by  several  persons,  but  he  persistently  refused  to 
publish  it  or  to  produce  it  before  witnesses  in  connection 
with  this  controversy. 

There  was  still  another  circumstance  relative  to  Mr. 
Morse's  testimony  which  had  an  ugly  look.  Lafayette  died 
in  1834.  Professor  Morse  first  published  the  motto  in  1836, 
whereas  Lafayette  had,  in  1832,  earnestly  enjoined  upon  him 
the  duty  of  warning  his  countrymen  of  their  imminent  dan- 
ger from  "  Romish  priests."  Why  had  he  waited  to  perform 
this  office  for  four  years  after  the  solemn  injunction  had  been 
laid  upon  him,  and  until  Lafayette  had  been  in  his  grave 
two  years  and  five  months  ? 

And  this,  too,  was  not  to  be  forgotten :  Mr.  Morse  had 
first  given  currency  to  this  motto  during  the  Maria  Monk 
excitement,  when  the  many  "  awful  disclosures"  that  were 
being  made  would  likely  cause  this  revelation  to  be  received 
without  much  questioning.  But  thus  far  Bishop  Spalding 
had  only  been  gently  adjusting  Professor  Morse  on  the  rack 
of  the  inquisition.  He  was  now  prepared  to  apply  the  cru 
cial  test.  In  the  same  year  in  which  Professor  Morse  claimed 
to  have  received  the  message  to  the  American  people  from 
Lafayette,  that  gentleman,  in  a  speech  in  the  French  Assem- 
bly, had  given  expression  to  a  sentiment  wholly  incompati- 
ble with  that  of  the  motto. 

In  reply  to  a  motion  to  expel  from  France  certain  refu- 
gees, including  the  English  or  Irish  monks  who  were  living 
with  the  Trappists  at  Melleray,  Lafayette  had  said  : 

"  Mistake  not  rigor  for  strength,  or  despotism  for  power; 
then  you  will  not  have  need  of  all  these  precautions,  and 
the  Trappists  of  Melleray  will  not  be  more  dangerous  to 


Controversy  with  Professor  Morse.  197 

you  than  are  the  Jesuits  of  Georgetown  to  the  United 
States."  * 

At  the  very  time  that  he  tells  Mr.  Morse  of  the  danger  to 
the  United  States  from  the  machinations  of  Catholic  priests^ 
Lafayette  publicly  declares  in  the  French  Assembly  that 
the  United  States  has  nothing  to  fear  from  even  the  Jesuits, 
whom,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Vanpelt  assures  us,  he  considered  "  the 
most  crafty  and  dangerous  enemies  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty." 

Either  Lafayette  was  the  basest  of  hypocrites,  or  Professor 
Morse  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Vanpelt  were  lying  under  a  mistake. 

But  the  "  vivid  and  distinct  recollections  "  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Vanpelt  were  deserving  of  more  special  attention.  Lafayette 
had  said  to  him,  such  were  his  vivid  recollections,  that  when 
in  Boston  during  the  Revolution  he  had  worshipped  sitting 
by  the  side  of  General  Washington,  and  this  circumstance 
had  led  to  the  conversation  in  which  the  Frenchman  had 
used  the  words  of  the  motto  or  words  of  like  meaning. 

Bishop  Spalding  set  to  work  and  showed  that  Washing- 
ton and  Lafayette  had  never  been  in  Boston  together,  and 
that  consequently  they  could  never  have  worshipped  sitting 
side  by  side  in  any  church  in  that  city,  and  that,  therefore, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Vanpelt  had  a  vivid  and  distinct  recollection 
of  hearing  Lafayette  say  he  had  done  what  it  was  simply 
impossible  that  he  ever  should  have  done. 

Thus  the  Rev.  Dr.  Vanpelt  was  dismissed  with  a  motto- 
very  different  from  that  which  he  had  sought  to  authenti- 
cate— falsiis  in  iino,  falsiis  in  omnibus.  One  of  Professor 
Morse's  witnesses  could  not  be  found,  the  name  of  another 
he  was  not  at  liberty  to  give,  a  third  was  proven  to  have 
borne  false  testimony,  and,  finally,  his  own  statement  con- 

*  The  speech  was  delivered  April  9,  1S32,  and  is  found  in  \\\q  Memoirs 
and  Correspondence  of  Lafayette,  published  in  12  vols.,  under  the  supervision 
of  his  favorite  son,  George  Washington  Lafayette. 


198  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

cerning  the  letter  which  contained  the  important  message 
from  Lafayette  he  could  not  verify,  leaving  the  very  strong 
impression  that  the  electric  telegraph  was  not  the  only  thing 
which  he  had  invented. 

In  addition  to  this,  Bishop  Spalding  had  shown  that  La- 
fayette had  publicly  in  the  French  Assembly  given  expres- 
sion to  sentiments  in  direct  contradiction  with  the  motto, 
and,  consequently,  that  could  it  be  proved  that  he  was  its 
author,  the  conclusion  from  the  premises  would  be  that  his 
opinion  on  the  subject  was  absolutely  worthless,  because 
self-contradictory.  But  Professor  Morse,  by  the  verdict  of 
the  public,  had  signally  failed  to  establish  either  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  motto,  or  the  trustworthiness  of  his  memory. 

This  good  came  of  the  controversy — it  deprived  no-popery 
fanatics  of  a  favorite  text,  and  added  another  proof,  if  proof 
were  needed,  that  when  the  church  is  to  be  attacked,  bigots 
and  fanatics  will  hesitate  at  nothing,  not  even  fraud  and  un- 
truth.* 

It  may  be  said  of  the  whole  anti-Catholic  crusade  of  that 
day,  that  the  result  was  favorable  to  the  church.  A  few 
narrow-minded  bigots,  whose  ignorance  was  probably  in- 
vincible, were  really  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  the  Bible  and 
the  country,  and  were  terribly  in  earnest  in  seeking  to  stamp 
out  from  the  American  soil  every  trace  of  Catholicism  ; 
they  were  joined  by  the  mob  of  European  infidels  and  radi- 
cals, and  by  the  rabble  formed  by  the  sloughing  of  our 
social  sores,  and  this  horrid  mass  of  mental  obliquity  and 
moral  turpitude  called  itself  the  x\merican  party.  The 
American  people  rose  up  and  trod  it  under  foot. 

*  Bishop  Spalding  relates  an  anecdote  of  a  preacher,  who  in  the  midst  of 
the  KnowNothing  excitement  was  hurrying  a  no-popery  publication  through 
the  press.  He  had  written  a  flaming  preface,  taking  the  motto  as  his  text, 
and  his  manuscript  was  in  the  hands  of  the  printer  when  the  reply  to  Morse 
appeared.  He  at  once  went  to  his  publisher,  suppressed  the  preface,  and 
wrote  another,  in  which  no  allusion  whatever  to  the  motto  was  to  be  found. 


Controversy  with  Professor  Morse.  199 

They  felt  that  CathoHcs  had  been  wantonly  insulted, 
grossly  outraged,  and  that  sympathy  which  the  brave  and 
the  manly  always  have  for  the  wronged  took  the  place  of 
what  had  been  aversion,  or,  at  least,  indifference.  We  have 
been  making  rapid  strides  ever  since,  with  renewed  confi- 
dence in  our  fellow-countrymen,  increased  reverence  for  the 
institutions  which  God  has  given  us,  and  the  abiding  con- 
viction that  no  evil,  not  self-caused,  will  ever  befall  us  in  this 
free  land. 

"  The  Know-nothing  excitement,"  wrote  Bishop  Spalding 
to  Archbishop  Kenrick,  in  January,  1855,  "after  doing  us 
some  temporary  harm,  will  finally  result  in  good.  Mary 
Immaculate,  qucB  sola  cunctas  mteremit  hcereses,  will  see 
to  it." 


CHAPTER    XVI 

THE    PROVINCIAL     COUNCILS    OF    CINCINNATI — THE    COM- 
MON-SCHOOL   SYSTEM. 

HE  First  Provincial  Council  of  Cincinnati  was  held 
in  the  spring  of  1855,  and  Bishop  Spalding,  as 
a  suffragan  of  the  province,  attended  this  first 
solemn  gathering  of  the  bishops  of  the  West. 
He  was  made  Promoter  of  the  Council,  and  was  deputed  to 
write  the  pastoral  letter  of  the  fathers  to  the  clergy  and 
laity  of  the  province.  In  the  Second  Provincial  Council  of 
Cincinnati,  in  1858,  and  in  the  third,  in  1861,  Bishop  Spal- 
ding held  the  same  office  as  in  the  first,  and  the  pastoral  let- 
ters were  also  written  by  him. 

These  councils,  over  which  the  venerable  Archbishop 
Purcell  presided,  are  remarkable  for  the  practical  wisdom 
and  thorough  ecclesiastical  spirit  which  characterize  the  de- 
crees therein  enacted.  They  show  a  perfect  comprehension 
of  the  wants  of  the  church  in  the  West,  as  well  as  of  the 
proper  manner  of  meeting  them. 

The  training  of  a  pious  and  learned  priesthood  for  the 
ministry  was  thought  to  be  of  paramount  importance.  To- 
this  end,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  establish  two  provincial 
seminaries :  the  one  to  be  devoted  to  preparatory,  the  other 
to  theological  studies.  It  was  not  the  intention  of  the 
fathers,  however,  that  these  seminaries  should  interfere  with 
diocesan  institutions  already  existing.  Mount  St.  Mary's, 
near  Cincinnati,  was  made  the  Provincial  Theological 
Seminary,  and  St.  Thomas',  in  the  diocese  of  Louisville,  was 
raised  to  the  rank  of  a  Provincial  Preparatory  Seminary. 


Provincial  Coiuicils  of  Ciiiciiuiati.  20  f 

In  the  pastoral  letter  of  the  Third  Council  of  Cincinnati 
the  fathers  say  :  "  We  are  happy  to  be  able  to  report  that 
both  these  seminaries  are  now  in  a  very  satisfactory  condi- 
tion." In  the  First  Council  their  attention,  in  connection 
w  ith  the  subject  of  ecclesiastical  education,  was  called  to  an 
American  College,  to  be  founded  in  Rome  by  the  munifi- 
cence of  the  Holy  Father,  with  the  co-operation  of  the 
clergy  and  faithful  of  the  United  States.  The  establish- 
ment of  theological  conferences  was  earnestly  recommended. 
"  Such  reunions  of  the  clergy,  besides  promoting  that  fra- 
ternal  feeling  which  is  so  sweet  a  bond  of  Christian  and 
clerical  union,  strongly  tend  to  encourage  the  study  of  sacred 
things,  to  elicit  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  to  estab- 
lish uniformity  of  practice  in  minor  rites  and  observances." 

In  consideration  of  the  fact  that  the  priests  of  this  country 
belong  to  various  nationalities,  and  have  been  trained  in 
different  schools  of  theology,  the  effort  to  bring  about  uni- 
formity of  practice,  even  "  in  minor  rites  and  observances," 
is  of  the  greatest  importance. 

The  holding  of  spiritual  retreats  for  the  clergy,  annually,. 
or  at  least  once  in  two  years,  was  insisted  on. 

The  fathers  next  turned  their  thoughts  to  the  subject  of 
the  right  education  of  children. 

"■  Earnestly  do  we  desire,"  wrote  Bishop  Spalding  in  the 
pastoral  letter  of  the  First  Council,  "  to  see  a  parochial  school 
in  connection  with  every  Catholic  church  in  this  province  ;. 
and  we  hope  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  this  wish  near- 
est our  hearts  will  be  fully  realized.  With  all  the  influences 
constantly  at  work  to  unsettle  the  faith  of  our  children,  and 
to  pervert  their  tender  minds  from  the  religion  of  their 
fathers  ;  and  with  all  the  lamentable  results  of  these  influ- 
ences constantly  before  our  eyes,  we  cannot  too  strongly 
exhort  you  to  contribute  generously  of  your  means  to  en- 
able your  pastors  to  carry  out  this  great  work.    The  erectioa 


202  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

of  Catholic  schools  is,  in  many  respects,  as  important  an 
object  as  the  building  of  new  churches."  This  question  of 
religious  education  was,  in  the  minds  of  the  fathers  of  the 
■Cincinnati  Councils,  the  test  of  fidelity  or  infidelity  to  God  ; 
and  their  earnest  convictions  on  this  subject  have  been  produc- 
tive of  the  most  important  practical  results,  as  the  history 
^nd  present  condition  of  that  province  abundantly  prove. 

In  their  instructions  to  *he  faithful  concerning  the  anti- 
Catholic  movement,  then  at  its  height,  they  say:  "To 
the  grievous  and  utterly  false  charge  of  disloyalty  to 
this  government,  your  best  answer  will  be  to  continue  to 
do  what  you  have  all  along  sought  earnestly  and  sincerely 
to  do — to  discharge  faithfully  all  your  duties  as  citizens  of 
the  Republic,  rendering  to  Caesar  the  things  that  belong  to 
'Caesar,  without,  at  the  same  time,  forgetting  to  render  to  God 
the  things  that  belong  to  God.  The  Catholic  religion  exists 
.and  flourishes  under  all  forms  of  civil  government ;  it  is  the 
visible  kingdom  of  Christ  on  earth,  which  is  not  of  this  world. 
It  is  incompatible  with  no  well-ordered  form  of  human  gov- 
ernment, because  it  interferes  with  none.  Its  sphere  of  action 
is  essentially  different  from  and  infinitely  higher  than  that 
■of  any  merely  human  organization.  Its  ends,  its  means  of 
action,  its  doctrines,  its  sacraments,  and  its  government 
.all  belong  or  look  to  the  spiritual  order.  It  teaches  man  the 
way  to  heaven,  and  seeks  to  wean  his  affections  from  this 
•earth.  It  wages  war  with  the  passions,  and  inculcates  self- 
denial,  obedience  to  constituted  authority,  humility,  and 
■charity.  All  the  Catholic  Church  asks  of  the  world  is  a  free 
passage  through  it  to  her  proper  home  in  the  heavens." 
As  to  the  power  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  they  solemnly 
■declare  that  it  is  spiritual  in  its  objects  and  in  its  sphere  of 
action,  and  therefore  that  it  cannot  possibly  clash  with  any 
of  the  duties  which  Catholics  as  good  citizens  owe  to  the 
^country  in  which  they  live. 


The  Common- ScJiool  System.  203 

The  obligation  of  Catholics  to  support  the  religious  press, 
and  their  apathy  and  indifference  in  complying  with  this 
sacred  duty,  were  recalled  to  the  minds  of  the  faithful.  "  We 
entreat  you,"  say  the  fathers  of  the  Second  Council  of  Cincin- 
nati, "  to  awake  from  your  lethargy  in  this  respect,  and  to 
■extend  a  willing  and  generous  support  to  those  papers  and 
periodicals  which  are  published,  with  the  approval  of  your 
<:hief  pastors,  for  the  explanation  and  defence  of  our  hoh" 
faith ;  especially  to  those  which  are  published  in  your  own 
province  or  diocese.  As  the  Holy  Father,  Pius  IX.,  says: 
•*  Providence  seems  to  have  given,  in  our  days,  a  great  mis- 
sion to  the  Catholic  press.  It  is  for  it  to  preserve  the  prin- 
ciples of  order  and  faith  where  they  still  exist,  and  to  propa- 
gate them  where  impiety  and  cold  indifference  have  caused 
them  to  be  forgotten.'"  The  declaration  of  the  fathers,  as 
to  the  force  which  they  intend  these  decrees  shall  have,  is 
most  explicit :  "  The  Holy  See  having  approved  the  decrees* 
passed  in  our  First  Provincial  Council  of  Cincinnati,  they 
have  the  force  of  law  for  regulating  discipline  in  this  portion 
•of  the  church  of  God,  and  they  are  as  such  strictly  binding 
on  the  consciences  of  both  clergy  and  laity.  The  first  decree 
of  this  council  formally  accepted  and  promulgated  all  the 
•decrees  previously  passed  in  the  eight  Councils  of  Baltimore, 
including  those  of  the  last  or  plenary  council.  These,  then, 
likewise,  by  the  fact  of  their  approbation  by  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  and  of  their  solemn  promulgation  here,  hav?  the 
force  of  law  for  our  province."* 

In  the  Pastoral  Letter  of  the  Third  Council  of  Cincinnati, 
held  in  1861,  special  reference  is  made  to  the  common- 
school  system  as  it  exists  in  this  country. 

"We  think,"  say  the  fathers,  "that  few  candid  observers 
will  fail  to  have  remarked    the   progressive   demoralization 
among  the  youth   of  our   country,   and  to  regret  that   the 
*  Pastoral  Letter  of  the  Second  Council  of  Cincinnati. 


204  Lifo  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

system  of  common-school  education  has  certainly  not  suc- 
ceeded in  obviating  this  downward  tendency,  to  which  we 
may  fairly  ascribe  much  in  the  present  alarming  condition 
of  our  affairs.  Under  the  influence  of  this  plausible  but 
most  unwise  system,  the  rising  generation  has  been  edu- 
cated either  without  any  definite  religious  principles  at  all, 
or  with  false,  at  least,  more  or  less  exaggerated  and  fanatical 
principles.  The  system  itself,  if  carried  out  according  to  its 
alleged  intent  of  abstaining  from  any  definite  religious  in- 
struction, is  well  calculated  to  bring  up  a  generation  of 
religious  indifferentists,  if  not  of  practical  infidels  ;  and  if 
not  thus  carried  out,  its  tendency  is  to  develop  false  or  very 
defective-;  if  not  dangerous,  religious  principles.  The  facts^ 
we  believe,  sufficiently  prove  that  the  influence  of  our  com- 
mon schools  has  been  developed  either  in  one  or  both  of 
these  directions.  We  can  scarcely  explain  in  any  other  way 
the  manifest  moral  deterioration  of  the  country,  which  is 
probably  the  very  worst  feature  in  our  present  troubles. 
No  candid  man  will  deny  that  public  virtue  is  now  very  far 
below  the  standard  to  which  it  was  raised  in  the  earlier  and 
purer  days  of  the  Republic,  when  our  fathers  admired  the 
moral  heroism  and  were  guided  by  the  political  wisdom  of  a 
Washington. 

"  We  have  not  ceased,  on  all  suitable  occasions,  to  warn 
our  countrymen  against  the  dangerous  tendency  of  this 
system,  as  it  has  been  practically  carried  out,  not  merely 
because  its  operation  is  very  unjust  to  ourselves,  but  be- 
cause we  consider  it  radically  defective  and  wrong ;  but  our 
appeal  has  been  made  calmly,  and  with  due  regard  for  the 
feelings,  and  even  what  we  might  consider  the  prejudices,, 
of  others.  We  feel  it  to  be  our  most  sacred  and  most 
solemn  duty  to  rear  up  our  children  in  the  knowledge,  fear,, 
and  love  of  God ;  and  we  regard  this  as  the  essential  ele- 
ment, as  the  very  foundation,  the  life  and  soul,  of  all  sound 


The  Com7noii- School  System.  205 

education  among  Christians  —  that  which,  in  fact,  distin- 
guishes it  from  education  among  pagans.  As  this  rehgious 
training  is  not  possible  in  the  pubHc  schools  as  at  present 
organized  and  conducted,  our  children  are  necessarily  ex- 
cluded from  them  as  effectually  as  they  would  be  by  locks 
and  bolts,  unless,  indeed,  we  were  to  become  so  dead  to 
faith  as  to  be  willing  to  sacrifice  the  religious  education  of 

our  children  for  a  merely  worldly  convenience 

.  .  .  In  a  country  so  divided  in  sentiment  as  ours  is 
on  the  subject  of  religion,  the  only  system  which  would  be 
fair  and  equitable  to  all  would  be  that  which  would  make 
education  like  religion,  and  like  all  important  pursuits — 
entirely  free ;  and  if  taxes  are  collected  from  all  for  its 
encouragement  and  support,  let  them  be  apportioned  fairly 
among  the  scholars  taught  certain  branches  up  to  a  certain 
standard,  no  matter  under  what  religious  or  other  auspices." 
In  further  illustration  of  Bishop  Spalding's  views  on  this, 
socially  and  religiously,  the  most  important  question  of  our 
day,  I  shall  here  refer  to  a  controversy  on  this  subject  which 
he  carried  on,  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1859,  '^^'ith 
George  D.  Prentice,  the  editor  of  the  Louisville  Journal. 
The  discussion  grew  out  of  Bishop  Spalding's  review  of 
Joseph  Kay's  work  on  common-school  education  in  Europe. 
Taking  the  facts  as  furnished  by  Mr.  Kay,  a  Protestant, 
Bishop  Spalding  had  shown,  first,  that  in  the  matter  of 
common-school  education,  France  stood  first  among  the 
nations  of  Europe,  and  England  last,  whilst  Germany  occu- 
pied a  middle  position  between  these  extremes;  second, 
that  in  the  educational  system  almost  universally  adopted 
in  Europe,  religion  occupied  the  chief  place  among  the 
branches  taught  —  the  principle  being  generally  received 
that  education  without  religious  instruction  is,  at  best, 
imperfect  and  of  doubtful  advantage;  third,  that  to 
secure  religious  liberty  and  safeguard  the  rights  of  parents. 


2o6  Life  of  Ai'chbishop  Spalding^,. 

separate  schools,  supported  out  of  the  common-school  finicf, 
were  allowed  whenever  the  minority,  whether  Protestant 
or  Catholic,  desired  to  establish  them  ;  fourth,  that  where 
this  plan  had  been  most  faithfully  carried  out,  as  in  France,. 
Austria,  Prussia,  and  Bavaria,  the  common-school  system 
had  worked  best,  had  given  most  general  satisfaction,  and 
had  been  productive  of  the  greatest  good.  The  logical 
inference  from  all  this  was,  that  the  denominational  system, 
of  education,  adopted  by  nearly  all  the  states  o-f  Europe^ 
was  preferable  to  the  common-school  system  of  the  United 
States,  which  ignores  religion  and  excludes  it  from  the  pro- 
cess of  education.  That  a  Catholic  bishop  should  affirm 
this,  and,  above  all,  that  he  should  prove  it  to  be  true,  was. 
of  course  unpardonable. 

Bishop  Spalding  was  therefore  accused  of  being  an  enemy 
of  American  institutions,  and  an  advocate  of  the  despotic 
governments  of  Europe,  whilst  Catholics  in  general  were 
branded  with  being  disloyal,  because  they  claimed  the  right 
to  agitate  in  favor  of  reform  in  the  common-school  system 
of  the  country.  His  assailant  did  not  call  in  question  the 
facts  on  which  his  reasoning  was  based,  but  he  denied  that 
either  they  or  the  deductions  made  from  them  were  applic- 
able to  the  educational  wants  or  to  the  social  and  religious 
condition  of  the  United  States. 

Apart  from  the  general  importance  of  the  subject,  there 
were  special  reasons  of  a  local  character  which  rendered  it 
proper  that  Bishop  Spalding  should  not  refuse  to  accept  the 
challenge  thus  thrown  out  to  him. 

A  sectarian  school,  established  for  the  avowed  purpose  of 
perverting  Catholic  children  from  the  faith  of  their  fathers^ 
had  been  recently  recognized  by  the  School  Board  of  Louis- 
ville, and  had  received  a  portion  of  the  moneys  of  the  public- 
school  fund.  Catholics  had  thus  been  made  to  pay  to  help- 
destroy  the  faith  of  their  own  children. 


The  Cotnmon-ScJiool  System.  207 

Bishop  Spalding  entered  into  this  controversy  the  more 
willingly,  because  it  would  afford  him  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity of  publicly  denouncing  this  outrage  upon  the  most 
sacred  rights  of  conscience. 

To  the  charge  that  the  continued  agitation  of  the  question, 
of  common-school  education,  after  it  had  been  settled  by 
the  voice  of  the  people,  implied  disloyalty  to  the  Govern- 
ment, he  made  answer  : 

"  We  regret  the  useless  agitation  of  settled  questions  as 
much,  at  least,  as  does  the  writer  ;  but  we  have  yet  to  learn 
that,  in  this  free  country,  a  minority  which  feels  itself 
aggrieved  by  the  majority  has  not  the  clear  right,  and  is  not 
even  impelled  by  duty,  to  state  its  grievances,  and  to  con- 
tinue to  do  so  temperately  but  boldly  until  the  wrong  be 
redressed.  Oppressed  minorities  surely  have  rights  as  well 
as  triumphant  majorities  ;  and  where  they  have  truth  and 
justice  on  their  side,  they  have  even  more  sacred  and  more 
valid  rights.  ...  In  this  country  of  generous  impulses 
and  manly  sympathy  for  the  weaker  side,  there  is  nothing 
which  awakens  greater  interest  or  excites  more  admiration, 
than  to  see  an  aggrieved  minority  nobly  and  persistently 
battling  for  its  rights." 

Having  proclaimed  the  right  of  agitation  for  the  redress 
of  grievances  under  a  free  government,  Bishop  Spalding 
took  up  the  objections  of  his  opponent,  and  showed  that 
there  is  no  reason  to  be  found,  either  in  the  social  or 
religious  condition  of  this  country,  why  the  denominational 
system  of  public  schools,  which  had  been  found  to  work 
well  in  Europe,  should  not  be  introduced  here  with  equal 
success. 

The  Government  is  not  asked,  he  argued,  to  assume  that 
any  form  of  religion  is  in  itself  either  true  or  false.  To 
determine  this  does  not  lie  within  the  competency  of  the 
state,  as  the  Constitution  of  the    United    States   expressly 


2o8  Life  of  Archbishop  Spaldin^ 


o- 


admits.  The  state,  however,  recognizes  the  e::istence  of 
rehgion,  and  promises  to  secure  to  all  its  citizens  the  full 
and  undisturbed  possession  of  their  religious  rights.  Now, 
when  the  state  forces  the  members  of  a  religious  denomina- 
tion to  pay  taxes  for  the  support  of  schools  to  which  they 
are  not  free  to  send  their  children,  it  violates  the  liberty  of 
conscience  which  it  professes  to  protect. 

"  But,"  objected  Bishop  Spalding's  opponent,  "  we  must 
have  schools  supported  by  taxation  ;  for  otherwise,  as  all 
experience  shows,  vast  numbers  will  neglect  to  give  their 
children  any  education  whatever.  It  is  the  part  of  a  wise 
and  well-regulated  government  to  encourage  education  by 
every  lawful  means,  for  if  the  corrupt  are  unfit  to  be  free, 
the  ignorant  are  incapable  of  maintaining  their  liberties. 
Now,  in  a  country  like  this,  where  there  are  so  many  oppos- 
ing churches,  the  only  practicable  method  of  establishing 
schools  to  be  supported  by  taxation  is  to  exclude  the  ques- 
tion of  religion." 

Bishop  Spalding  answered  these  objections,  which  are 
probably  as  strong  as  any  which  the  friends  of  our  common- 
school  system  can  make,  by  applying  the  great  doctrine  of 
free-trade  to  the  business  of  education.  He  considered  that 
the  minimum  of  state  interference  was  logically  contained  in 
the  American  theory  of  government,  and  that  in  proportion 
as  we  augment  the  patronage  of  government,  in  that  same 
degree  do  we  endanger  our  political  institutions.  Legisla- 
tive and  official  corruption,  which  are  the  principal  evils  of 
which  we  complain,  grow  out  of  the  too  great  patronage  of 
the  Government,  which  leads  men  to  look  upon  political  life, 
not  as  the  road  to  honor  and  fame,  but  as  the  shortest  way 
to  wealth. 

The  only  political  remedy  for  this  evil,  which  has  become 
national  and  which  threatens  our  life  as  a  nation,  is  to  re 
duce  the  influence  of  the  Government  to  its  lowest  expres- 


The  Common- School  Systc7>i.  209 

sion.  It  is  no  more  the  business  of  the  state  to  teach  school 
than  it  is  to  run  banks  or  railroads. 

But  what  does  come  within  its  province  is  the  enactment 
of  laws  for  the  proper  regulation  and  protection  of  all  legiti- 
mate business,  which,  provided  these  conditions  be  complied 
with,  should  be  left  to  the  untrammelled  competition  of  all 
citizens.  Now,  consider  education  as  a  business  which  the 
state  should  protect  and  foster,  but  which  it  should  in  uo 
case  monopolize.  Let  the  state  create  a  fund  for  educa- 
tional purposes,  by  taxation,  as  under  the  present  system  ; 
let  it  make  regulations  to  which  all  schools  claiming  a  por- 
tion of  the  public  moneys  must  conform  ;  let  it  retain  a 
supervision  over  schools  to  the  support  of  which  it  contri- 
butes, in  whatever  relates  to  secular  learning,  and  then  let 
Catholics,  Protestants,  Jews,  and  infidels  build  their  school- 
houses,  and  receive  a  rated  proportion  of  the  public  moneys, 
provided  they  conform  to  the  requirements  of  the  law. 

Bishop  Spalding  held  that  the  system,  the  outlines  of 
which  are  here  given,  was  not  only  practicable,  but  that  it 
would  give  far  greater  satisfaction  than  the  one  now  in  ex- 
istence. The  rights  of  the  State  would  be  safeguarded, 
no  injustice  would  be  done  to  any  class  of  citizens,  and  pop- 
ular education,  to  say  the  least,  would  be  as  universal  and 
of  as  high  a  grade  as  at  present.  It  is  not  to  the  purpose 
to  say  that  this  system  would  make  the  state  a  teacher  of 
religion.  It  would  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  The  state  under 
it  would  do  simply  what  it  is  now  doing,  with  this  differ- 
ence, that  it  would  not  then  force  a  large  portion  of  its  citi- 
zens to  contribute  to  the  support  of  schools  to  which  they 
cannot  in  conscience  send  their  children. 

Concerning  the  reality  and  serious  nature  of  the  injustice 
which  Catholics  suffer  under  the  present  system  of  public 
schools,  Bishop  Spalding  did  not  think  there  could  be  two 
opinions.     To  state   the   case   was,  as   he   looked   at   it,   to 


2IO  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

make  it  as  evident  as  the   most  labored  argument   could 
render  it. 

That  Catholics  have  the  sincerest  conscientious  scruples 
as  to  the  danger  of  sending  their  children  to  the  public 
schools,  their  deeds  more  than  their  words  prove.  The  sac- 
rifices which  a  man  is  willing  to  make  in  any  cause  are  gen- 
erally accepted  as  the  test  of  his  sincerity ;  and  if  we  apply 
this  to  the  Catholic  population  of  the  United  States,  the 
perfect  honesty  of  their  convictions  is  at  once  manifest. 

If  there  were  no  remedy  for  this  evil,  except  by  withdraw- 
ing all  state  aid  for  educational  purposes,  a  plausible  pre- 
text might  be  found  for  this  system  of  injustice.  That  such 
is  not  the  case,  the  example  of  other  civilized  nations  has 
proved;  whilst  the  impartial  consideration  of  our  own  social 
condition  leads  to  the  same  conclusion.  The  Catholic 
Church  in  this  country  has  taken  a  far  deeper  view  of  this 
most  vital  question  of  education  than  that  which  has  been 
granted  to  any  of  the  sects  ;  all  of  which  are  either  wanting 
in  religious  earnestness,  or  ignore  the  natural  laws  of  religi- 
ous development  in  their  exclusive  and  false  theories  of  the 
special  and  supernatural  action  of  God  in  the  soul.  God 
has  subjected  the  religious  instinct  or  faculty  in  man,  in  some 
degree  at  least,  to  the  same  law  of  evolution  which  governs 
his  other  faculties ;  and  consequently,  it  must  be  evolved  by 
processes  similar  to  those  by  which  the  intellectual  and 
moral  faculties  are  educated;  otherwise,  man's  religious 
nature  will  remain  to  a  great  extent  in  a  latent  and  poten- 
tial state.  Now,  the  whole  theory  of  common-school  educa- 
tion in  this  country  ignores  this  all-important  psychological 
fact.  It  will  not  do,  in  the  vast  number  of  cases,  to  leave 
religious  training  to  the  family  influence  alone.  This  is  evi- 
dent for  many  reasons.  The  greater  number  of  parents 
have  neither  the  time  nor  the  intellectual  and  moral  qualifi- 
cations which  would  fit  them  as  religious  educators  of  their 


The  Cojnmon- School  System. 

own  children.  What  would  be  thought  of  us  were  we  to 
insist  that  the  intellectual  training  which  children  can  receive 
at  home  is  all-sufficient  ?  All  experience  teaches  that  were 
education  left  exclusively  to  the  family,  ignorance  would 
become  universal.  In  the  same  way,  faith  would  grow  feeble 
and  decay  if  the  religious  training  of  the  young  were  left 
to  the  parents  alone.  It  may  be  objected  that  we  have 
churches  in  which  the  priest  can  supplement  the  religious 
education  received  at  home.  Without  seeking  in  the  least 
to  underrate  the  value  of  this  instruction,  it  must  be  admit- 
ted that  it  is  altogether  inadequate  to  the  purpose.  As  it 
is  the  province  of  religion  to  control  all  the  actions  of  life, 
it  follows  that  it  must  enter  into  and  form  part  of  the  gene- 
ral training  of  youth.  Since  the  religious  faculty  requires  tc 
be  brought  out  by  a  process  similar  to  that  by  which  the 
intellect  is  educated,  it  is  but  natural  to  suppose  that  this 
cannot  be  done  with  any  degree  of  success  by  a  few  instruc- 
tions given  at  considerable  intervals  of  time.  Believing  that 
this  is  the  highest  and  divinest  faculty  in  man,  the  church 
holds  that  at  least  as  much  care  should  be  bestowed  upon 
its  cultivation  as  upon  that  of  the  other  faculties.  Indeed, 
the  exclusion  of  religious  instruction  from  the  school-room 
can  be  logically  justified  only  on  the  assumption  that  reli- 
gion is  false.  If  all  positive  religious  dogmas  are  the  off- 
spring of  superstition,  then  it  is  certainly  most  desirable 
that  doctrines  emanating  from  such  a  source  should  be  con- 
sidered as  evil,  as  tending  to  the  perversion  of  both  the 
mind  and  the  heart.  That  men  who  look  thus  upon  all 
positive  religion  should  wish  to  exclude  it  from  the  process 
of  education  is  not  surprising;  but  that  those  who  believe 
that  thcsL-  teachings  are  revealed  of  God  should  concur  in 
this,  is  altogether  incomprehensible.  The  godless  school 
theor\-.  then,  can  have  its  logical  basis  only  in  that  system 
o^  sophistr)'  which  hqlds  that  all  positive  religious  dogmas 


212  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

had  their  origin  in  the  credulity,  the  ignorance  and  fears. 
of  rude  and  savage  peoples.  Were  this  true,  the  diffusion 
■of  the  spirit  of  unbelief  would  be  most  desirable  ;  and  for  the 
accomplishment  of  this  end  no  better  means  could  be  found 
than  the  godless  school  system.  It  is  only  when  we  look  at 
the  question  of  education  from  this  higher  point  of  view 
that  we  get  a  right  conception  of  the  determined  opposition 
of  Catholics  to  the  common-school  system  as  it  exists  in 
this  country,  and  that  we  come  to  understand  how  such 
men  as  Bishop  Spalding,  who  in  other  respects  undoubtedly 
admired  American  institutions,  could  have  no  sympathy 
whatever  with  this  theory  of  education.  He  was  persuaded 
that  it  was  based  upon  an  essentially  antichristian  phi- 
losophy, and  that,  starting  out  on  the  implied  assumption 
of  the  untruth  of  Christianity,  its  practical  tendency  was  to 
undermine  faith  in  Christ  himself.  No  meddlesome  or  un- 
worthy spirit  moved  him  to  protest  with  such  fearlessness 
and  vehemence  against  the  public  schools.  He  felt  that 
the  most  sacred  interests  of  the  country  itself  were  in  danger, 
and  that,  unless  a  remedy  were  applied,  the  final  outcome 
would  be  the  loss  of  our  character  as  a  Christian  nation  ; 
and  his  grief  was  not  greater  than  his  astonishment  to  find 
that  the  leaders  of  the  various  Protestant  churches  were 
blind  to  the  evils  which  he  deplored,  and  which  did  not 
concern  Catholics  alone,  but  all  who  believe  in  the  divinity 
of  the  Christian  religion. 

The  undenominational  system  of  schools  which  we  have 
here  is  precisely  that  which  the  infidel  party  in  Europe  is 
using  every  exertion  to  introduce  there,  because  it  perceives 
how  fatal  it  must  prove  to  religion.  "  In  my  opinion,"  has  said 
one  of  the  leaders  of  this  party,  "  every  church,  whatsoever 
may  be  the  name  which  it  bears  or  the  principle  from  which 
it  springs,  is  an  obstacle  -to  civilization.  Every  church,  for 
the  reason   that  it  lays  dov»'n  articles  of  belief  and  ins'sts 


The  Common- School  System.  213 

upon  faith,  impedes  the  development  of  the  human  mind. 
Ever)'  church  is  a  hamper  upon  the  free  fli^dit  of  the  soul. 
I  desire  that  the  soul  be  unfettered,  and  therefore  I  desire 
that  there  be  no  church.  Abolish,  then,  this  whole  system 
which  teaches  man,  from  his  infancy,  to  believe  in  a  future 
state  of  life.     We  must  learn  how  to  be  atheists."  * 

The  great  social  problem  of  the  age  with  these  men  is  how 
to  give  to  man  on  earth  the  happiness  which  he  has  hitherto 
been  led  to  look  for  only  in  heaven.  Underlying  all  the 
objections  which  the  various  schools  of  unbelief  make  to. 
religion,  is  the  thought  that  whatever  induces  man  to  act 
with  regard  to  a  future  state  is  superstition  ;  that,  conse- 
quently, all  positive  religious  dogmas  are  hurtful  to  our  true- 
interests,  since  by  inducing  us  to  think  of  heaven,  they 
cause  us  to  neglect  the  vital  interests  of  earth. 

It  is  but  natural  that  men  who  hold  such  views  should 
wish  to  exclude  all  religious  instruction  from  the  schools. 
But  these  views  cannot  be  said,  as  yet,  to  represent  public 
sentiment  in  this  country.  Most  Americans  still  believe  in 
God,  and  have  a  certain  veneration  for  religion.  There  is, 
however,  a  very  general  feeling  with  us  that  religion 
is  easily  distinguishable  from  creeds  and  churches ;  that 
ecclesiastical  organizations  are  chiefly  serviceable  as  afford- 
ing a  convenient  means  of  teaching  morality  ;  that  the  two 
sacraments  which  still  remain  to,  at  least,  a  portion  of  Pro- 
testant Christianity — baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper — are 
mere  rites,  void  of  efficacy  and  even  of  meaning  ;  that  the 
minister  of  religion  is  only  a  preacher — a  teacher  without  a 
divine  commission  ;  and,  consequently,  that  church-member- 
ship is  simply  an  aftair  of  convenience,  and  the  choice 
between  the  different  religious  denominations  of  the  land 
merely  a  matter  of  taste.  Hence,  there  can  be  little  reason 
why  we  should  be  astonished  that  the  masses  of  our  people 
*  Carl  Vogt :  Address  before  tlie  National  Assembly  in  Frankfort. 


2  14  L'^fo  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

attach  no  importance   to  denominational   religious  instruc- 
tion.    They  do  not,  indeed,  Hke  the  infidels  of  Europe,  look 
upon  all  churches  as  bad,  as  obstacles  to  the  progress  of 
mankind  ;  but  as  little  do  they  consider  them  divine  institu- 
tions, essential  to  the  progress  of  religion,  to  the  welfare  of 
society,  and  the  salvation  of  the  soul.     Hence,  it  was  alto- 
gether natural  that  in  establishing  a  common-school  system, 
no  notice  whatever  should  have  been  taken  of  the  various 
religious  denominations  of  the  country.      Even  among  the 
stricter  sort  of  Protestants,  the  idea,  very  generally  received, 
that  religion  must  proceed  exclusively  from  the  special  in- 
terference of  God,  by  which  the  individual,  through  con- 
sciousness of  sin,  is  awakened  to  repentance,  causes  them  to 
look  upon   the  teaching   of  religious  doctrines   as  of  little 
importance.     A  stray  and  dissonant  voice  is  now  and  then 
raised  from  the  midst  of  one  or  other  of  the  sects,  to  warn 
against  the  danger,  to  faith  from  the  exclusion  of  all  reli- 
gious instruction  from  the  public  schools,  but  it  dies  away 
without  having  awakened  even  an  echo. 

Although  no  one  could  be  more  opposed  to  the  public- 
school  system  than  Bishop  Spalding,  yet  he  was  by  no 
means  in  favor  of  committing  the  church  to  party  politics 
in  order  to  effect  a  reform  in  this  matter  or  in  any  other. 
He  appealed  to  public  opinion,  and  sought  to  enlighten  it, 
without,  however,  deluding  himself  with  the  hope  that  any 
speedy  change  was  to  be  looked  for.  He  considered  that 
he  had  done  but  little  when  he  had  written  and  spoken  in 
favor  of  the  true  theory  of  popular,  as  of  all,  education. 
What  God  demands  of  Catholics  in  this  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, and  in  this  country  especially,  is  not  that  they  talk, 
but  that  they  act.  He  looked  upon  the  agitation  of  the 
school  question  as  of  very  little  importance  compared  with 
the  real  work  to  be  done.  The  remedy  which  he  sought, 
and  which  it  was  in  his  power  to  apply,  was  to  build  paro- 


The  Co?}i7?ion- School  System.  215 

chial  schools,  into  which  he  strove  to  gather  the  children 
of  his  own  people,  who  showed  their  rehgious  earnestness  by 
generously  co-operating  with  him  in  this,  the  most  impor- 
tant work  of  the  church. 

It  will  be  perceived,  from  what  has  been  said,  that  Bishop 
Spalding's  opposition  to  the  common-school  system  did  not 
proceed  chiefly,  or  to  any  great  extent  indeed,  from  fear 
lest  special  or  accidental  influences  prejudicial  to  their  faith 
should  be  brought  to  bear  upon  Catholic  children  if  allowed 
to  frequent  the  public  schools.  He  objected  to  the  system 
itself,  which,  as  it  presented  itself  to  his  mind,  was  based 
upon  false  principles,  and  necessarily  tended  to  produce  a 
spirit  of  religious  indifference  fatal  to  Christianity,  as  under- 
stood and  taught  by  the  Catholic  Church. 

The  view  of  religion  which  common-school  education  is 
almost  sure  to  develop,  is  that  it  is  something  quite  inde- 
pendent of  ecclesiastical  organizations,  and  consequently 
that  it  is  of  no  consequence  to  what  church  one  belong,  or 
whether  he  belong  to  any ;  and  this  view  is  in  direct  an- 
tagonism with  the  fundamental  idea  upon  which  the  church 
is  founded.  To  individualize  Christianity  is  to  undermine 
the  facts  upon  which  it  rests.  The  humanity  of  Christ  and 
the  objective  visible  church  are  correlative  facts,  and  both 
are  essential  to  the  complete  notion  of  the  Christian  religion. 
Fellowship  with  Christ  is  obtained  through  communion  with 
his  church.  She  alone  is  his  spouse  ;  she  alone  the  mother 
of  his  children.  Hence,  there  can  be  no  more  pernicious 
error  in  religion  than  the  theory  which  the  common  schools, 
however  conducted,  must  of  necessity  help  to  propagate — ■ 
that  communion  with  the  church  is  not  of  obligation  ;  and 
Bishop  Spalding  therefore  held  that  these  schools,  even 
when  unsectarian,  are  still  anti-Catholic. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

DIOCESAN   AFFAIRS — TRAITS   OF    CHARACTER — CORRESPON- 
DENCE  WITH   ARCHBISHOP   KENRICK. 

E  shall  now  turn  to  matters  more  immediatel}^ 
connected  with  Bishop  Spalding's  administration 
of  the  diocese  of  Louisville.  A  few  weeks  after 
his  consecration  in  1848,  he  held,  as  I  have  al- 
ready stated,  an  informal  synod  of  his  clergy,  in  which  the 
outlines  of  the  statutes  which  were  to  serve  as  the  basis  ot 
his  ecclesiastical  government  were  determined.  In  the  next 
synod,  a  more  definite  form  was  given  to  these  decrees,  and 
they  were  solemnly  promulgated.  After  declaring  that  all 
the  decrees  of  the  Councils  of  Baltimore  were  to  be  con- 
sidered as  binding  in  the  diocese  of  Louisville,  the  statutes, 
determine  the  ritual  which  is  to  be  used  in  the  administra- 
tion of  the  sacraments,  and  the  ceremonial  to  be  conformed 
to  in  the  public  functions  of  the  church.  They  recall  the 
instructions  of  the  Council  of  Trent  to  pastors  of  souls,  and 
the  laws  of  the  church,  which  forbid  priests  to  meddle  with 
secular  affairs. 

In  connection  with  the  administration  of  the  sacraments,, 
the  erection  of  baptismal  fonts  to  be  kept  under  lock  and 
key  was  made  obligatory  in  all  places  where  baptism  is 
usually  given — that  is,  where  there  is  a  resident  pastor,  and 
even  in  other  churches  this  is  strongly  advised.  The  custom, 
of  administering  baptism  in  private  houses,  which  had  been 
introduced  when  priests  were  few,  and  when  Catholics  fre- 
quently lived  at  great  distances  from  church,  was  abolished,, 
except  in  cases  of  necessity,  or  in  exceptional  circumstances.. 


Diocesan  Affairs.  217 

The  priests  laboring  on  the  missions  were  required  to  keep 
baptismal  and  marriage  registers,  and  their  consciences  were 
charged  with  the  obligation  of  faithfully  inscribing  in  them 
the  names  of  the  parties,  as  indicated  by  the  formula.     The 
times  in  which  the  public  exposition  of  the   Blessed  Sacra- 
ment  was   permitted   by  the   Ordinary   were  stated.       The 
statutes  required  that  confessionals  should  be  erected  in  all 
churches  in  which  confessions  were  to  be  heard.     The  faith- 
ful were  to  be  warned  by  their  pastors  each  year  in   Lent 
of  the   evils  which    flow    from    mixed   and    consanguineous- 
marriages.      The  custom  of  performing  the  marriage  cere- 
mony in    private  houses  where  both  parties  are  Catholics,, 
was  abolished.     Parochial  limits  and   the   rights  of  pastors 
were  to  be   respected.      The    duty  of   instructing    children 
and    the    negroes  was  insisted   upon.     Those  charged  with 
the  care  of  souls  were   required  to   render  annually   an   ac- 
count of  the  state  of  their  missions. 

These  and  other  disciplinary  regulations  embraced  in  the 
diocesan  statutes  were  submitted  to  the  priests  in  synod 
assembled,  and,  having  been  approved  of  by  them,  were  sol- 
emnly promulgated,  jfudices  caiisartim,  with  jurisdiction  iii. 
foro  ecclcsiastico,  were  appointed,  before  whom  all  cases 
within  their  competency  were  to  be  brought.  In  the  second 
and  third  synods  of  Louisville,  held  in  1858  and  1862,  fur- 
ther enactments,  tending  to  complete  and  perfect  the  organ- 
ization of  the  diocese,  were  made.  Ecclesiastical  confer- 
ences, to  be  held  in  the  city  four  times  in  the  year,  and  in 
the  country  twice,  were  established,  with  a  view  to  keep  up 
and  cultivate  habits  of  study  in  the  clergy,  and  also  to  pro- 
mote uniformity  of  action. 

The  administration  of  Bishop  Spalding,  which  was  based 
upon  the  general  ecclesiastical  polity  which  is  the  natural 
and  unhindered  outgrowth  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  in 
which  the  church  has  been  placed  in  this  country,  could  in 


2i8  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

no  proper  sense  be  called  arbitrary.    The  laws  which  goverr 
the  relations  of  the  higher  to  the  lower  clergy  here  form  an 
integral  part  of  the  exceptional  status  of  the  church  in   the 
•United  States  ;  and  to  change  them  in  an  essential  manner 
■would  destroy  the  unity  of  the  whole  system.     A  great  por- 
tion of  the  canon  law  of  the  church  grew  out  of  her  relations 
with  the  European  state,  more  especially  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
which  were  so  entirely  different  from  those  in  which  she  is 
placed  here,  as  to  render  the  application  of  many  of  those 
Jaws  to  our  ecclesiastical  condition  altogether  impracticable. 
Many  of  them   have   grown  obsolete  even  in  Catholic  na- 
tions,  and   the  church  has  acquiesced  in  the  new  state  of 
things.     Those  laws,  indeed,  which  govern  faith  and  morals 
.are  of  universal  obligation.     But  this  is  not  always  the  case 
with  regulations  which  are  merely  disciplinary.     That  con- 
siderable portion  of  canon  law,  for  instance,  which  treats  of 
ecclesiastical  benefices,  can  have  no  application  to  the  church 
in  this  country,  nor  can  that  concerning  the  immunity  of 
•clerics.     The  same  must  be  said  of  the  laws  relating  to  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  patriarchs  and  primates.     We  have 
no  primate,  and  it  is  not  probable  that  we  shall  ever  have 
•one.     There  is  no  patronage  and  no  right  of  presentation  to 
ecclesiastical  livings  here,  nor  is  there  likely  to  be  any,  and, 
consequently,  the  canon  law  on  this  subject  is  inapplicable 
to   us.     The   whole    system    under   which    young    men    are 
raised  to  the  priesthood  in  the  United  States  is  an  excep- 
tional one,  not  in  accordance  with  the  general  laws  of  the 
church  on  titles  of  ordination,  and  it  is  impossible  that  this 
should  be  otherwise.     To  insist  on  the  introduction  of  this 
portion  of  canon  law  would  be  to  shut  out  from  the  sanctu- 
ary nine-tenths  of  the  young  men  who  present  themselves 
for  orders.     And  this  ought  not  to  be  lost  sight  of  in  a  fair 
and  enlarged  view  of  church  polity  in  the  United  States,  for 
this  titulus  missionis,  which  is  an   absolute  necessity   here, 


Diocesan  Affairs.  219 

lies  at  the  root  of  the  relations  of  the  higlicr  to  the  lower 
clergy,  which  by  some  are  thought  to  be  abnormal,  whereas 
they  are  only  the  outgrowth  of  the  circumstances  in  which 
we  have  been  placed,  and  which  it  has  not  been  in  the 
power  of  any  man  or  body  of  men  to  change.  These  relations 
'.are  substantially  the  same  which  existed  in  the  first  ages  of 
the  church,  when  the  bishop,  as  at  present  in  the  United 
.States,  was  the  only  pastor  in  the  diocese.  No  one,  how- 
ever, could  be  less  inclined  than  Bishop  Spalding  either  to 
■exercise  arbitrary  power  himself,  or  to  approve  of  others 
•exercising  it,  and  he  strongly  favored,  as  we  shall  see,  a 
■gradual  change  in  the  relations  which  exist  between  the  two 
■orders  of  the  clergy  in  this  country.  He  himself  was  cer- 
tainly not  disposed  to  remove  priests  when  in  loco  parochi, 
■except  for  weighty  reasons.  He  was,  indeed,  from  principle 
•opposed  to  frequent  changes,  as  being  hurtful  to  both  priest 
and  people.  In  one  of  his  letters  he  refers  to  a  parish  in 
which  he  had  been  forced  within  a  brief  space  of  time  to 
•make  several  removals  of  pastors,  and  he  adds  that  he  feels 
.ashamed  to  meet  the  people  of  that  place,  for  it  looked  as 
though  he  had  been  trifling  with  them.  He  always  preferred 
kind  to  harsh  measures,  and  seldom  had  recourse  to  ecclesi- 
astical censures.  In  a  conversation  on  this  subject,  he  said 
that,  during  an  episcopal  career  of  more  than  twenty  years, 
he  had  exercised  the  power  of  suspension  but  two  or  three 
times. 

He  rarely  if  ever  took  any  important  step  without  having 
first  taken  counsel  of  his  advisers,  who  were  known  and  trusted 
by  both  the  clergy  and  laity.  Even  in  minor  things,  he  gen- 
erally consulted  with  those  who  were  immediately  concerned, 
and,  as  far  as  prudence  and  conscience  permitted,  allowed 
himself  to  be  influenced  by  their  views.  Whoever  had  a 
■complaint  to  make  found  him  ready  to  listen  ;  and  he  was 
.always  willing  to  hear  both  sides  before  coming  to  a  final 


220  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

decision.      He   had,  however,  no  conception  of  the  priest- 
hood, especially  in  this  country,  except  as  connected  with  a. 
hfe  of  hardship  and  self-sacrifice  ;  and  he  therefore  expected 
his  priests  to  endure  much  and  suffer  many  things  without 
losing  heart,  as  it  was  only  on  this  condition  that  they  could 
be  true  and  useful  workers  in  the  vineyard  of  Christ.      He 
himself  had  been  brought  up  and  had  lived  under  apostolic 
men,  who  thought  never  of  themselves,  but  always  of  the 
salvation  of  souls  ;  and  all  his  views  of  the  priesthood  were 
colored  by  the  impressions  made  upon  him  by  the  example 
of  the  noble  missionaries  who  had  built  up  the  church  in 
Kentuck)'.     "  We  should  frequently  recall  to  mind,"  he  said,, 
in  an  exhortation  to  his  priests,  "  the  earnest  admonitions 
of  that  man  of  God,  the  founder  and  first  superior  of  our 
theological  seminary,   Bishop  David,  who  strove  in  season 
and  out  of  season  to  im.press  upon  our  minds  and  hearts  the- 
necessity  of  the  priest  being  a  man  of  prayer,  wholly  devoted 
to  his  duties,  and  constantly  walking  before  God,  meditating 
upon  his  law  day  and    night,  if  he  would  be  perfect,  and 
receive  from  God  the  priceless  gift  of  perseverance.     Many 
of  us  may  also  remember  the  oft-repeated  declaration-  of  the 
saintly  first  Bishop  of  Louisville,  the  venerable  Flaget,  that 
a  priest  who  does  not  keep  up  his  spiritual  exercises  and 
make  his  daily  meditation,  cannot  reasonably  hope  to  perse- 
vere to  the  end.     A  fearful  truth,  alas !  too  strongly  illus- 
trated by  sad  experience  !     These  holy  men,  treading  in  the 
footsteps  of  the  saints  of  God,  exemplified  in  their  own  lives 
the  truths  which  they  so  impressively  taught.     They  were 
truly  the  models  of  the  flock  and  the  mirror  of  the  clergy," 
And  again  he  said  :   "  The  salvation  of  one  soul,  venerable 
brethren,  is  more  glorious  than  the  conquest  of  a  kingdom. 
Of  all  divine  things,  says  an  ancient  writer,  the  most  divine 
is  to  co-operate  with  God  for  the  salvation  of  souls.     This- 
is  one  of  the  most  lofty  privileges  of  our  holy  ministry  ;   for 


Traits  of  Character.  221 

we  are  ambassadors  of  Christ,  God,  as  it  were,  exhorting  by 
us.  Like  the  apostles,  we  have  been  constituted  the  fishers 
of  men  ;  and  if  we  be  so  happy  as  to  correspond  well  with 
the  graces  of  our  vocation,  we  shall,  like  them,  take  many  in 
the  Gospel  nets,  and  lead  them  to  life  eternal.  Our  blessed 
Lord  came  to  send  fire  on  earth,  and  what  does  he  wish  more 
than  that  it  be  enkindled  in  the  hearts  of  all  men  ?  In  order 
that  we  may  be  able  to  scatter  this  heavenly  fire  over  the 
earth,  we  must  take  care  to  keep  it  always  burning  in  our 
own  hearts  ;  for  if  we  be  cold  ourselves,  how  shall  we  be 
able  to  warm  others  ?  Happy  shall  we  be  if,  by  a  constant 
and  living  union  with  Jesus  Christ,  the  Source  of  the  divine 
fire,  we  maintain  ourselves  in  the  fervor  of  the  holy  priest- 
hood, and  thus  become,  like  St.  John  the  Baptist,  burning 
and  shining  lights  in  God's  sanctuary." 

His  own  love  for  the  Blessed  Virgin  made  him  desire  that 
his  priests  should  be  her  most  devout  servants,  as  the  follow- 
ing words,  taken  from  the  pastoral  address  from  which  I 
have  been  quoting,  sufficiently  prove :  ''  We  exhort  you, 
venerable  brethren,  to  cherish  in  your  own  hearts,  and  to 
keep  alive  in  those  of  your  flock,  a  deep  reverence  and  a 
tender  devotion  towards  the  Mother  of  God  our  Saviour, 
who,  besides  being  the  elected  Patroness  of  the  church  in 
the  United  States,  is  in  a  special  manner  the  queen  of  the 
clergy  and  the  tender  mother  of  all  the  priests  of  God,  as 
she  was  and  is  the  mother  of  the  great  High-Priest  from 
whom  we  derive  all  our  ministerial  powers.  Revered, 
obeyed,  and  beloved  by  her  divine  Son  while  on  earth, 
she  now  shines  with  brightness  unspeakable  in  heaven,  the 
ever  compassionate  and  devoted  mother  of  all  who  are  the 
adopted  brethren  of  her  Son.  Her  mother's  countenance 
beams  with  special  interest  and  kindness  on  the  priests  of 
God's  church,  who,  under  Christ,  can\-  on  the  great  work  for 
which  he  died  (jn  tiie  cross.     Mary  conceived  without  sin  is 


22  2  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding-, 

the  master-work  of  God,  more  radiant  far  than  was  the  first 
mother  of  the  human  race,  in  all  the  loveliness  of  her  prime- 
val innocence.  She  is  the  brightest  ornament  of  heaven  as 
she  was  of  earth  ;  in  her  and  through  her  we  see  retrieved  the 
degradation  of  her  sex,  and  of  the  whole  human  race,  brought: 
about  by  the  disobedience  of  the  first  Eve.  With  such  a. 
mother  in  heaven,  sweetly  smiling  on  us  in  our  labors,  we 
cannot  fail  to  feel  courage  and  consolation  amidst  all  our 
tribulations,  and  to  be  cheered  by  the  abiding  hope  that^ 
when  the  brief  days  of  our  sorrowful  exile  shall  be  over,  she 
will  show  us  the  face  of  Jesus,  the  blessed  fruit  of  her  womb^ 
in  the  haven  of  eternal  rest." 

Bishop  Spalding  certainly  gave  to  his  clergy  the  example 
of  a  life  wholly  devoted  to  the  cause  of  religion.  Few  men. 
more  single-hearted  than  he  have  ever  lived.  Practical  ex- 
perience of  life  had  made  him  wiser,  but  he  still  had  all  the 
ingenuousness  and  transparency  of  character  that  belong  to- 
childhood.  With  a  faith  that  not  even  the  shadow  of  a 
doubt  had  ever  obscured,  with  a  devotion  that  had  never 
known  any  other  object  than  God,  with  a  zeal  that  never 
grew  cold,  he  labored  to  be  what  he  had  proposed  to  him- 
self years  ago  as  a  student  in  the  Propaganda — useful  to  the 
church  of  Christ.  He  was  almost  a  constant  sufferer,  and 
had  frequent  attacks  of  severe  illness  ;  but  not  even  bad 
health  could  destroy  his  energy,  or  prevent  him  from  per- 
forming the  arduous  duties  of  his  office.  If  able  to  sit  up, 
he  was  sure  to  be  at  work,  and  even  when  confined  to  bed 
he  allowed  his  mind  no  repose.  And  yet  he  was  not  of  a. 
restless  or  nervous  temperament,  but  could  be  busy  without 
bustle.  He  had  made  it  a  rule  of  life  not  to  defer  what  he: 
could  do  at  the  present  moment,  and  what  he  was,  sooner 
or  later,  bound  to  do.  I  have  seen  him  leave  the  society  of 
friends,  in  the  midst  of  an  interesting  conversation,  to  say  a 
portion  of  the  office  the  very  first  moment  it  fell  due.     A. 


Traits  of  Character.  223: 

year  or  two  before  his  death  he  told  me  that  during  nearly 
forty  years  in  which  he  had  been  laboring  on  the  missions- 
in  one  capacity  or  another,  he  had  never  said  Mass  without 
having  first  absolved  the  matins  and  lauds  of  the  day. 

This  fact  of  itself,  as  they  who  are  acquainted  with  the 
duties  of  missionary  priests  and  bishops  will  readily  admit,, 
testifies  to  a  life  governed  by  system  and  order. 

He  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  his  diocese  on  horseback,, 
and  later  in  a  buggy,  which  he  generally  drove  himself.  But 
on  a  smooth  and  level  road  his  faithful  horse  needed  not  a 
driver,  and  then  the  Bishop  gave  him  the  reins  whilst  he 
said  the  office  of  the  Breviary. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  pleasant  journeys  which,  when. 
quite  a  small  boy,  I  had  the  happiness  to  make  with  him. 
His  merry  laugh,  that  might  have  been  that  of  a  child  who 
had  never  known  a  sorrow  or  a  care,  the  simple  and  naive 
way  he  had  of  listening  to  the  prattle  of  children,  the  whole 
expression  of  the  countenance  showing  a  soul  at  rest  and 
happy  in  the  work  which  he  was  doing,  are  still  present  tO' 
my  mind,  like  the  remembrance  of  flowers  and  sunshine.. 
And  I  remember,  too,  with  what  warmth  and  reverence 
and  love  he  was  received  everywhere,  and  how  his  presence 
w^as  never  connected  in  my  mind  with  anything  morose  or 
severe.  Eyes  that  seemed  to  have  looked  for  his  coming 
grew  brighter  when  he  had  come,  and  when  he  was  gone  it 
was  like  the  ceasing  of  sweet  music  which  one  would  wish 
to  hear  always,  but  which,  even  when  hushed,  keeps  playing 
on  in  the  soul,  attuning  it  to  gentler  moods  and  higher 
thoughts.  He  was  full  of  human  sympathies  and  human 
ways.  The  purple  of  the  bishop  never  hid  the  man  ;  nor 
did  he,  because  he  belonged  to  the  supernatural^  order,  cease 
to  be  natural.  There  was,  indeed,  a  certain  elegance  and 
refinement  about  him  which  no  one  could  fail  to  perceive — • 
the   true  breeding  of  a  gentleman  ;   but   wilhal   he  was  as 


2  24  L^f^  if  Aixhbishop  Spalding. 

plain  as  the  simplest  Kentucky  farmer.  He  rarely  talked 
about  learned  things  ;  and,  when  he  did,  he  (Jid  not  talk  in 
a  learned  way.  He  possessed  naturally  remarkable  powers 
of  adaptation,  which  enabled  him  to  feel  perfectly  ai  ease 
in  circumstances  and  companies  the  most  dissimilar.  There 
was  not  a  poor  negro  in  his  whole  diocese  with  whom  he 
was  not  willing  to  talk  about  anything  that  could  be  of 
advantage  to  him.  I  remember  particularly  how  kindly  he 
used  to  speak  to  the  old  servants  of  his  father,  who  had 
known  him  as  a  child.  He  had  a  special  sympathy  with 
this  whole  race,  and  I  have  known  him,  whilst  Archbishop 
of  Baltimore,  to  take  the  trouble  to  write  a  long  letter  to  an 
old  negro  in  Kentucky  who  had  consulted  him  concerning 
his  own  little  affairs. 

He  frequently  wrote  to  children  ten  or  twelve  years  old, 
from  whom  he  had  received  letters.  In  company  where 
there  were  children,  he  never  failed  to  devote  himself  to 
their  amusement,  even  to  the  forgetfulness  of  the  claims  of 
more  important  persons.  When  at  home,  he  usually  passed 
the  forenoon  in  writing,  or  in  receiving  those  who  called  to 
see  him  on  matters  of  business.  After  dinner,  he  spent 
some  time  in  conversation,  which  he  always  enjoyed,  and 
then  withdrew  to  his  room  to  say  vespers,  with  matins  and 
lauds  for  the  following  day.  In  summer,  he  kept  up  an  old 
Roman  habit  of  taking  a  short  repose  in  the  afternoon.  He 
would  then  walk  out,  calling  in  here  and  there  to  visit  some 
school  or  convent,  or  to  spend  a  few  moments  with  some 
Catholic  family.  On  the  street,  he  would  stop  to  greet, 
with  a  few  pleasant  words,  almost  every  acquaintance  he 
chanced  to  meet.  Frequently  he  would  remain  to  tea  at 
the  house  of  a  friend,  after  which  he  returned  to  his  room 
to  write  or  read  until  the  hour  for  retiring  for  the  night 
arrived.  The  rule  in  his  house  was,  that  every  one  should 
be  in  at  ten  o'clock,  when  tlie  door  was  locked.    Apart  from 


Correspondence  with  ArcJibisJiop  Kenrick.      225 

this  regulation,  ho  never  interfered  with  the  tastes  or  hours 
of  the  priests  of  his  household.  In  the  cathedral,  he  had 
his  own  confessional,  and,  when  at  home,  he  was  generally 
found  there  on  Saturday  afternoon.  And  it  was  his  custom 
to  preach  at  the  late  Mass  on  Sunday. 

The  financial  affairs  of  the  diocese  he  entrusted,  for  the 
most  part,  to  his  brother,  the  Very  Rev.  B.  J.  Spalding,  to 
whose  prudence  and  foresight  he  was  greatly  indebted  for 
the  freedom  from  money-troubles  which  he  enjoyed. 

When  Bishop  Spalding  wished  to  engage  in  serious  lite. 
ary  work,  he  usually  left  his  episcopal  residence,  and  sought 
some  quiet  place  where  he  could  be  free  from  interruption. 

In  a  letter  to  Archbishop  Kenrick,  to  whom  he  was  in 
the  habit  of  writing  every  few  days,  he  says  :  "  I  shall  look 
with  much  interest  for  your  volume  on  Job  and,  the  Prophets. 
How  you  can  find  time,  amidst  all  your  labors,  to  attend  to 
the  severe  Scriptural  studies  requisite  for  the  gigantic  work 
you  have  nearly  completed,  almost  exceeds  my  comprehen- 
sion. When  I  write,  I  have  to  run  off  for  a  few  days,  as  I 
have  not  the  knack  of  doing  two  or  more  things  at  once.  I 
have  a  snug  little  country-house  at  Portland  suitable  for  this 
purpose." 

To  Archbishop  Kenrick  he  opened  his  heart,  with  the 
most  perfect  freedom  and  simplicity,  on  all  subjects,  and  in 
return  he  received  the  full  and  entire  confidence  of  that 
great  and  truly  Christian  bishop.  They  wrote  to  one  an- 
other about  their  labors,  their  projects  for  the  good  of  the 
church,  their  literary  occupations,  making  suggestions  and 
criticisms  with  the  freedom  which  only  true  and  long-tried 
friendship  justifies. 

An  Episcopal  clergyman  of  Baltimore,  who  shall  be  name- 
less here,  had  given  currency  to  the  stupid  slander  of  the 
Louisville  preachers,  to  which  reference  has  already  been 
made   in  connection  with  the  Morse  controversy.     He  had 


2  26  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

even  taken  the  trouble  to  send  the  calumny  to  England ;. 
where  it  had  been  published  as  a  striking  example  of  the 
corruptions  of  Romanism. 

Had  Bishop  Spalding  known  his  accuser,  he  would,  I 
think,  have  taken  no  notice  of  him.  But  as  he  had  never 
even  heard  of  him,  and  as  the  absurd  accusation  had  been 
made  in  connection  with  a  controversy  which  had  attracted 
considerable  attention,  he  thought  proper  to  defend  himself. 

In  writing  to  Archbishop  Kenrick,  he  had  said  something 
about  having  his  defence  inserted  in  the  Mirror,  in  case  the 
slander  should  be  repeated.  To  this  the  Archbishop  replied^ 
in  a  playful  manner,  that  Bishop  Spalding  was  evidently 
anxious  to  involve  him  in  one  of  those  "  pugnacious  "  dis- 
putes of  which  he  was  so  fond.  In  answer,  the  Bishop 
wrote  :  "  I  did  not  wish  to  involve  you  in  any  '  pugnacious' 
contest,  but  simply  to  request  that  a  word  of  explanation 
should  be  inserted  in  the  Mirror,  in  case  I  should  be 
attacked  in  Baltimore  without  my  immediate  knowledge. 
I  am  one  of  the  most  peaceable  men  living — more  so,  proba- 
bly, than  was  the  Doctor  Acerrimus  who  is  canonized  ;  but 
I  must  defend  myself  when  attacked.  Sometimes  the  best 
mode  of  defence  is  to  carry  the  war  into  Africa,  and  not 
always  to  stand  rigidly  by  the  motto  in  Moliere :  Si  jc  iiic 
defends,  ce  nest,  quen  reculantT 

This  was  written  in  1859,  a  short  time  before  the  opening" 
of  the  American  College  in  Rome,  and  when  it  was  also- 
deemed  probable  that  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  the 
Bishops  of  the  United  States  would  soon  be  conv^ened  ; 
and,  in  the  letter  from  which  I  have  been  quoting,  refer- 
ence is  made  to  both  these  subjects. 

"  I  was  under  the  impression  that  Bishop  O'Connor  was 
to  go  to  Rome  to  superintend  the  opening  of  the  American 
College.  I  sent  Cardinal  Barnabo  a  check  for  $1,000,  which 
is  all  I  have  been  able  to  collect.     Our  Kentucky  Catholics, 


Correspondence  ivith  Archbishop  Kenrick.      227 

as  Father  Badin  used  to  say,  do  not  belong  to  the  sect  of 
the  Donatists  ;  and  we  need  not  wonder  at  their  orthodoxy, 
«ince  we  know  they  came  from  Maryland.  Perhaps  at  the 
Plenary  Council  we  may  be  able  to  form  a  general  associa- 
tion for  the  relief  of  converts,  and  also  to  agree  upon  some 
plan  to  give  them  a  status  in  the  church,  which  is  even  more 
important.  I  do  not  see  why  such  married  converts  as  Dr- 
ives and  Dr.  Huntington  might  not  be  ordained  lectors,  or 
even  receive  all  the  minor  orders.  They  could  then,  under 
the  direction  of  the  ordinaries,  give  catechetical  instruction 
in  the  churches,  and  superintend  the  parochial  and  Sunday- 
schools,  with  regular  salaries  from  the  congregations.  I 
hope  a  plan  may  be  matured  for  the  purpose.  To  have 
them  depend  on  precarious  alms  is  uncertain  and  humiliat- 
ing. I  enclose  my  quota.  I  am  glad  you  are  continuing 
your  revision,  but  still  regret  that  Dr.  Newman  and  the 
English  bishops  do  not  unite  with  you  in  bringing  out  3; 
common,  popular  version,  which  is  a  great  want." 

Bishop  Spalding,  it  would  seem,  afterwards  saw  fit  to 
modify  his  opinion  as  to  the  work  which  married  converts 
may  be  permitted  to  perform  in  the  church  ;  for  I  find,  in 
another  of  his  letters,  the  following  sentence  :  "  Rome  will 
never  consent,  in  my  opinion,  to  allow  married  men  to  re- 
ceive even  minor  orders." 

To  the  subject  of  the  English  version  of  the  Bible  he  fre- 
quently refers,  in  his  correspondence  with  Archbishop  Ken- 
rick. Dr.  Newman's  unequalled  knowledge  of  English  could 
not,  he  thought,  be  employed  to  better  purpose  than  in 
giving  to  the  great  English-speaking  Catholic  body  an 
idiomatic  version  of  the  Scriptures.  This  was  also  Arch- 
bishop Kenrick's  opinion,  who  was  willing  to  co-operate 
in  the  work;  and  negotiations  were,  in  fact,  begun  with  a 
view  to  secure  the  services  of  competent  persons,  both  m 
Great  Britain  and  in  this  country.     Unfortunately,  however. 


2  28  Life  of  x4rchbishop  Spalding. 

owing  to  causes  which  I  need  not  here  relate,  no  practical 
result  came  of  this  project. 

With  reference  to  the  general  plan  of  Archbishop  Ken- 
rick's  version  of  the  Bible,  Bishop  Spalding,  in  his  corre- 
spondence with  that  amiable  and  learned  prelate,  expresses 
his  opinion  with  great  freedom.  "  I  think,"  he  says  in  one 
of  his  letters,  "  the  notes  should  be  more  doctrinal,  without, 
however,  being  precisely  polemical.  Some,  which  are  merely 
critical,  might  be  omitted  in  the  popular,  and  developed 
more  fully  in  an  enlarged  edition.  As  the  people  have  been 
so  long  accustomed  to  the  Douay  version,  it  might  be  well 
not  to  depart  from  it  unnecessarily,  or  except  with  a  view  to 
make  the  rendering  more  English  and  less  Latin,  or  for  the 
sake  of  greater  accuracy."  In  a  subsequent  letter  he  refers 
more  particularly  to  the  version  of  the  New  Testament. 
"  I  have  just  received  and  examined  your  New  Testament. 
I  am  much  pleased  with  it ;  the  small  blemishes  which  had 
been  remarked  in  the  first  edition  have  been  removed.  I 
welcome  it  as  a  most  valuable  contribution  to  our  sacred 
literature.  I  expect  to  use  it  for  the  first  time  in  the  cathe- 
dral next  Sunday ;  and  gradually  to  introduce  it  as  a  text- 
book in  our  other  churches.  Had  I  received  it  before  our 
diocesan  synod,  in  August,  I  should  have  officially  recom- 
mended its  adoption  to  my  clergy.  The  notes  must  have 
cost  you  immense  labor  ;  in  fact,  I  can  scarcely  conceive  how 
you  have  been  able  to  refer  to  so  many  readings  and  autho- 
rities. .  .  .  It  is  hard  for  the  most  perverse  critic  to 
censure  mildness,  especially  in  a  Catholic  prelate.  Still,  I 
have  been  tempted  to  wish  that  you  had  been  a  little  more 
pointed  in  noticing  certain  Protestant  readings,  which  have 
usually  been  regarded  as  perversions  of  the  text." 

In  a  letter  to  Archbishop  Kenrick,  written  in  February, 
l86i.  Bishop  Spalding  returns  to  this  subject,  in  which  he 
evidently  took  very  great  interest.     "  Our  provincial  coun- 


Corrcsponde7ice  with  Archbishop  Kenrick.      229 


cils  will  be  held  this  spring,  or  at  least  during  the  course  of 
the  present  year.  Would  it  not  be  well  to  avail  yourself  of 
the  occasion  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  your  brethren  in 
having  your  version  of  the  New  Testament  adopted  as  the 
standard  text  for  this  country?" 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION — VIEWS  ON  THE  DUTIES 
OF  ECCLESIASTICS  IN  THEIR  RELATIONS  WITH  THE 
STATE — EPISCOPAL    LABORS. 

N    his  correspondence  with  Archbishop   Kenrick, 
Bishop    Spalding    frequently  makes  allusion  to 
his  own  literary  labors.    The  first  \vork  which  he 
published  was  the  Reviczv  of  U Aubign^' s  History 
vf  the  Reformation  in  Germany  and  Switzerland. 

He  had  chosen  precisely  the  kind  of  writing  best  suited 
to  his  style  and  habits  of  thought,  for  he  possessed  great 
power  as  a  reviewer. 

The  refutation  of  D'Aubigne,  who  is  little  more  than  a 
pleasant  writer  of  romance,  was  complete  and  unanswerable  ; 
and  the  reception  with  which  Dr.  Spalding's  book  met,  at 
once  placed  him  among  the  most  popular  Catholic  authors 
of  the  day.  But  his  review  of  D'Aubigne  was  confined  to 
the  history  of  the  Reformation  in  Germany  and  Switzerland, 
and  consequently  left  untouched  that  portion  of  the  great  reli- 
gious innovation  of  the  sixteenth  century,  which  was  of 
most  interest  to  the  public  to  which  his  work  was  more 
immediately  addressed.  In  1859,  nearly  twenty  years  after 
the  publication  of  his  first  volume  on  the  subject,  Bishop 
Spalding  determined  to  write  a  more  complete  and  general 
history  of  the  Reformation. 

"  My  essay,"  he  wrote  to  Archbishop  Kenrick,  "  on  the 
History  of  the  Reformation  will  be  published  in  two  octavo 
volum.es,  the  first  of  which  will  contain  the  original  work  on 
Germany  and   Switzerland,   remodelled,  and    prefaced  by  a 


History  of  the  Reforination.  231 

lengthy   introduction   on   the   state    of    Europe  before   the 
Reformation. 

"  The  second  volume,  entirely  new,  will  embrace  the  his- 
tory of  the  Reformation  in  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland, 
the  Netherlands,  France,  and  Northern  Europe,  and  will  re- 
view McCrie's  Knox,  Prescott's  Philip  II.,  Motley's  Dutch 
Republic,  Ranke's  Civil  Wars  in  France,  Fryxell's  Sweden, 
.and  other  works. 

"  I  find  the  gathering  of  materials  more  difficult  than  I 
iliad  supposed.  They  accumulate  so  that  it  is  not  easy  to 
know  what  to  select.  I  have  already  reviewed  Haller's 
History  of  the  Swiss  Reformation.  Prescott  is  more  preju- 
•diced  in  his  Philip  II.  than  in  his  previous  works ;  he  is, 
liowever,  as  an  historian,  far  preferable  to  Hallam." 

From  this  letter  it  will  be  perceived  that  Bishop  Spalding, 
in  his  larger  and  more  complete  work  on  the  Reformation, 
•did  not  depart  from  the  plan  which  he  had  originally  adopted 
in  his  refutation  of  D'Aubigne.  He  still  retained  the 
•character  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  style  of  a  reviewer, 
•which,  though  subject  to  disadvantages  of  rather  a  serious 
kind,  in  historical  writing,  yet  gave  him  greater  facility  for 
correcting  false  statements  and  erroneous  impressions,  which 
were  the  more  pernicious  because  of  the  great  authority  of 
the  names  of  those  who  had  given  them  their  sanction. 

He  was  thus  able  to  obtain  a  double  end — to  furnish  a  re 
liable  history  of  the  Reformation,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to 
call  attention  to  the  errors  into  which   even  the  best  and 
ablest  non-Catholic  writers  on  this  subject  had  fallen. 

Bishop  Spalding  does  not  consider  history  a  bare  recital 
of  events  ;  but  he  looks  before  and  after,  and  in  the  past 
seeks  an  explanation  of  the  present,  which  he  would  have 
■speak  words  of  guidance  to  the  future.  He  does  not  belong, 
however,  to  what  Carlyle  calls  the  class  of  cause-and-effect 
■.speculators,    who    compute    and   account   for  all  things  in 


232  Life  of  A  rch b ish op  Spa Iding. 

heaven  and  earth,  attempting  even  to  give  an  algebraical 
symbol  for  the  infinite,  and  to  reduce  the  unlimited  work- 
ings of  man's  spiritual  life  within  the  narrow  compass  of  a 
formula.  The  philosophy  of  history  is  most  generally 
merely  the  history  of  the  writer's  prejudices  and  hobbies.. 

"  Speculation,"  says  Bishop  Spalding,  "however  elaborate 
and  philosophical,  without  a  solid  basis  of  facts,  is,  in  our 
view,  wholly  worthless,  if  not  mischievous,  in  an  historical 
writer,  as  it  can  scarcely  fail  to  mislead." 

In  his  review  of  the  religious  condition  of  Europe  prior  to 
the  Reformation,  he  enters  into  a  comprehensive  and  dispas- 
sionate enquiry  into  the  causes  which  led  to  the  heresies- 
and  schisms  of  the  sixteenth  century.  In  the  following 
brief  statement  of  the  question,  which  covers  the  whole 
ground,  and  at  the  same  time  gives  a  very  correct  and 
just  insight  into  the  subject,  he  concludes  from  the  facts 
which  he  has  developed  in  this  essay  : 

"  I.  That  the  amount  and  extent  of  the  scandals  and 
abuses  complained  of  during  this  period  (the  Middle  Ages) 
have  been  greatly  exaggerated,  and  that  the  good  more  than 
counterbalanced  the  evil.  Evil  always  excites  more  atten- 
tion and  makes  more  noise  in  the  world  than  good  ;  and 
what  contemporary  writers,  even  if  they  were  otherwise- 
good  men,  say  of  abuses  and  of  the  persons  to  whom  they 
are  to  be  ascribed,  will  generally  be  found  to  be  highly  col- 
ored ;  especially  if  the  writers,  as  is  often  the  case,  have 
their  feelings,  as  partisans,  enlisted  on  the  one  side  or  the 
other.  Feelings  must  be  calmed,  excitement  must  pass 
away,  and  affairs  must  fully  work  themselves  out,  before  a 
correct  and  reliable  judgment  can  be  formed  on  any  series 
of  events. 

"  2.  That  these  abuses  and  scandals  generally  originated 
in  the  world  and  its  princes,  not  in  the  church  and  its  chief 
pastors;  most  of  them  being  due  to  the  fact  that  bad  meiis 


History  of  the  Reformation.  233 

were  thrust  into  the  high  places  of  the  church  by  worldly- 
minded  and  avaricious  princes  in  spite  of  the  Popes,  whose 
settled  policy  was  to  protest  with  all  their  might  against  a  line 
of  conduct  so  very  ruinous  to  the  best  interests  of  religion. 
And  such  being  clearly  the  case,  it  is  most  unjust  to  charge 
those  scandals  on  the  church  or  on  the  pontiffs.  If  the 
princes  of  the  earth  could  have  ruined  the  church,  they 
would  have  done  so  by  their  wicked  and  oppressive  enact- 
ments. That  they  did  not  succeed  in  inflicting  on  her  more 
than  occasional  and  temporary  wounds,  we  owe  to  the  di- 
vine vitality  of  the  church,  and  to  the  noble  and  dauntless 
opposition  of  the  Popes. 

"  3.  That  there  was  a  lawful  and  efficacious  remedy  for 
all  such  evils,  which  consisted  in  removing  their  obvious- 
cause,  and  giving  to  the  Popes  their  due  power  and  influence 
in  the  nomination  of  the  bishops  and  in  the  deliberations  of 
general  ecclesiastical  councils,  the  judgments  of  which  had 
hitherto  been  always  viewed  as  final ;  that,  in  one  word,, 
reformation  within  the  church  and  not  revolution  outside  of 
it,  was  the  only  proper,  lawful,  and  efficacious  remedy  for 
existing  evils,  and  the  one  which  had  always  been  invoked 
by  the  wise  and  the  good  in  all  previous  ages  of  Christianity. 

"4.  Finally,  that  the  fact  of  Christians  having  at  length 
felt  prepared  to  resort  to  the  desperate  and  totally  wrong, 
remedy  of  revolution,  was  owing  to  a  train  of  circumstances 
which  had  caused  faith  to  wane  and  grow  cold,  and  which 
now  appealed  more  to  the  passions  than  to  reason,  more  to 
human  considerations  than  to  the  principles  of  divine  faith 
and  the  interests  of  eternity." 

The  History  of  the  Reformation  is  Bishop  Spalding's  most 
valuable  contribution  to  the  Catholic  literature  of  our  coun- 
try. It  was  published  in  the  spring  of  i860.  The  first  edi- 
tion, which  was  large,  was  almost  immediately  exhausted,, 
and  a  second  was  called  for,  which  was  followed  by  a  third» 


j»34  ^if^  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

fourth,  and  fifth  edition.  Bishop  Timon  urged  the  issuing 
•of  a  cheaper  edition,  saying  that  he  thought  fifty  thousand 
■copies  could  be  sold ;  and  Bishop  Spalding  was  setting 
.about  this  work  when  the  cloud  of  civil  war  loomed  above 
the  horizon  and  directed  men's  thoughts  to  the  history  that 
<was  to  follow  rather  than  to  that  which  had  gone  before. 

Bishop  Spalding's  position,  during  the  late  civil  war,  was 
-one  which  required  more  than  ordinary  prudence  and  wis- 
KJom  to  meet  and  overcome  the  difficulties  which  presented 
themselves  on  every  side.  His  people  were  divided  in  their 
views  and  sympathies,  and  his  diocese  was  frequently  occu- 
pied, at  the  same  time,  by  the  armies  of  both  the  North  and 
.the  South. 

Whatever  his  personal  opinions  may  or  may  not  have 
Ibeen  on  the  great  questions  which,  at  that  time,  absorbed 
the  whole  thought  of  the  nation,  in  his  official  and  eccle- 
siastical capacity  he  scrupulously  abstained  from  all  inter- 
ference in  political  and  secular  matters.  In  thus  seeking  to 
remain  aloof  from  the  strife  and  angry  passions  of  the  hour, 
he  was  influenced  solely  by  his  sense  of  duty,  based  upon 
what  he  conceived  to  be  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  the 
American  theory  of  government.  Among  the  papers  which 
he  left,  I  have  found  one  on  "  The  Church  and  the  Country," 
in  which  he  discusses  this  question  at  some  length.  As  this 
paper,  which  was  written  about  the  close  of  the  late  war, 
contains  a  very  lucid  statement  of  Bishop  Spalding's  views 
on  this  most  important  subject,  and  also  furnishes  the  best 
-commentary  upon  his  conduct  during  the  war,  I  shall  take 
the  liberty  of  presenting  to  my  readers  some  of  the  thoughts 
which  it  contains. 

"  The  Catholic  Church,"  wrote  Bishop  Spalding,  "  is 
■essentially  conservative.  She  is  so  both  by  her  origin  and 
divinely  established  constitution,  and  by  her  historical  rela- 
tions to  the  world.     She  alone,  amid  the  changes  wrought 


The  Duties  of  Ecclesiastics,  ly^ 

hy  time,  has  preserved  her  integrity  unimpaired  and  her 
unity  unbroken — the  seals  of  her  divine  origin.  She  is  not 
•only  the  great  conservative,  but  she  is  the  only  union  church. 
She  alone  has  power  to  combine  and  to  blend  into  unity  the 
elements  of  discord  and  opposition  inherent  in  human  nature. 
She  alone  unites  all  nations,  peoples,  and  tribes  in  the  pro- 
fession of  the  one  faith,  in  the  reception  of  the  one  order  of 
-•sacraments,  and  in  the  one  form  of  ecclesiastical  government. 
And  this  example  of  marvellous  unity — without  parallel  in 
.all  history — is  not  merely  a  phenomenon  of  the  present  age, 
hitherto  unknown  ;  it  is  the  ordinary  history  of  the  church 
•for  eighteen  centuries.  Catholicity  unites ;  Protestantism 
divides.  History  proves  this,  whether  we  confine  our  view 
to  the  last  three  centuries,  or  enlarge  it  to  the  whole  period 
•during  which  Christianity  has  been  acting  on  the  world.  In 
■every  age,  conservatism  and  union  rest  with  the  church, 
whilst  dissensions  and  divisions  are  the  lot  of  the  sects 
which  rebel  against  her  authority.  Protestantism,  in  all 
its  phases,  is  but  a  repetition,  under  a  different  form,  of 
the  scenes  enacted  by  more  ancient  sectarism.  Everywhere 
we  witness  the  same  love  of  novelty,  the  same  perpetual  and 
restless  antagonisms,  and  the  same  never-ending  changes  of 
opinion.  Having  once  seceded  from  the  only  union  church, 
these  bodies  of  fragmentary  Christianity  find  no  repose  until 
they  dissolve  into  individualism  and  nihilism.  It  is  well  to 
bear  these  truths  in  mind,  in  order  to  be  able  better  to  ap- 
preciate the  past  and  present  position  of  the  Catholic  Church 
towards  the  American  state. 

"The  influence  of  the  church,  in  past  ages,  has  been, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  the  most  distinguished  pub- 
licists, both  Catholic  and  Protestant,  highly  beneficial  to 
•civilization.  Her  action,  however,  upon  society  has  been 
modified  by  the  various  circumstances  in  which  she  has 
'been  placed.     Whilst  the  European  populations  were  in  the 


236  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

process  of  formation,  and  were  as  yet  like  children  under 
tutelage,  she  was  called  upon  to  exert  herself  more  directl/ 
in  the  regulation  of  their  affairs,  temporal  as  well  as  spirit- 
ual.    But  as  the  organization  of  society  became  more  per- 
fect, she    retired    more  and   mere  into   her  own   cherished 
spiritual  domain,  in  which  resided  the  secret  of  her  won- 
derful power  and  influence  over  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
Whilst   these  were    yet  children  and  needed  teachers,  she 
provided  them  with  instructors  from  the  exhaustless  body 
of  her  clergy  ;  while  they  were  without  governors  or  defi- 
nite   ideas   of  correct   government,   she  supplied   the    want 
by  bidding  them   model  their  constitutions   after  her  own 
divinely   established    system  ;    and    if  she  did   not    appoint 
their  rulers,   she  at   least   exerted   a   strong   influence   over 
them,  and   thus  secured   the  people  from  the  evils  of  un- 
bridled despotism.     In  a  word,  while    they  were  children, 
she  directed  and  guided  them  as  such  ;  when  they  grew  up 
to  the  age  of  manhood,  and  were  able  to  stand  alone,  her 
influence  over  their  conduct  and   civil  government  under- 
went a  corresponding  change,  and  manifested  itself  chiefly 
through  moral  suasion  and  example.     Having  been  estab- 
lished for  all  nations,  she  must  live  and  does  live  under  all 
kinds  of  government.     Hence,  as  a  church,  she  can  advo- 
cate none  to  the  exclusion  of  the  others.     Her  kingdom  is 
not  of  this  world,  and  the  chief  end  which  she  contemplates 
is  supernatural,  and  her  means  and  appliances  for  attaining 
this  end  partake  of  the  same  heavenly  character. 

"  We  may,  then,  fairly  infer  that  the  church  of  Christ,  to 
be  true  to  her  high  purposes,  should  keep  herself,  as  far  as. 
may  be,  within  her  own  lofty  sphere  ;    above  the  region  of 
worldly  contentions  and   human    passions,  into  which   she- 
should  never  descend,  except  when  impelled  by  a  sense  of 
duty  or  the  demands  of  justice.     The  church  which  rises= 
above  the  strifes  and  angry  passions  of  the  day,  and  con- 


The  Duties  of  Ecclesiastics.  237 

fines  herself  to  her  high  spiritual  office  of  promoting  peace 
and  good-will  among  men,  and  of  soothing  human  passions 
and  suffering,  in  so  far  shows  herself  to  be  the  church  of 
Christ.  That  this  has  been  the  course  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  the  late  war,  no  one  will  deny.  She  has  preached 
religion,  not  politics;  she  has  advocated  love,  not  hatred. 
Devoted  to  the  welfare  and  permanent  prosperity  of  the 
country,  she  has  thought  that  she  could  best  promote  its 
interests  by  confining  herself,  as  a  church,  to  prayer  and 
ministrations  for  the  relief  of  suffering  of  every  kind,  bodily 
and  spiritual.  The  course  almost  unanimously  adopted  by 
the  bishops  and  clergy  of  the  Catholic  Church  during  the 
late  terrible  civil  war  has  been  eminently  conservative,  and 
worthy  of  them  and  of  the  church  of  all  ages  and  of  all 
nations.  In  limiting  their  action  to  their  own  sphere  of 
duties,  they  have  not  for  a  moment  thought  that  they  were, 
in  the  least,  wanting  in  patriotism,  or  in  the  ardent  desire 
to  do  everything  in  their  power  to  aid  their  suffering 
country  in  emerging  from  its  difficulties.  In  the  hour  of 
danger,  the  country  has  the  right  to  demand  that  every 
citizen  shall  do  his  duty.  The  Catholic  clergy  did  theirs, 
without,  however,  departing  from  their  proper  sphere  as 
ministers  of  religion.  While  the  Catholic  laity  were  placed 
in  every  respect  on  an  exact  level  with  their  fellow-citizens 
of  every  other  denomination  and  of  no  denomination,  and 
had  the  same  duties  and  rights  as  they  ;  and  while  they 
fully  discharged  their  duties  as  citizens  and  soldiers,  as 
politicians  and  officers,  in  the  full  proportion  of  their  num- 
bers, the  Catholic  clergy  had  also  their  respective  duties, 
which  they  were  by  no  means  remiss  in  fulfilling. 

"  In  a  country  like  this,  where  there  is  no  union  of  church 
and  state,  where  the  church  is  happily  free,  and  the  state 
stands  pledged  by  the  Constitution  not  to  interfere  in  mat- 
ters of  faith  and  worship,  there  is  no  sufficient  reason,  nor 


238  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

even  a  plausible  pretext,  for  the  intervention  of  the  clergy 
in  matters  of  pure  politics.     The  rights  and  duties  of  the 
church  and  the  state  are  reciprocal  ;    and  as  the  state  has 
no  right  to  interfere  with  the  church,  so  the  church  and  its 
ministers  have  no  right  to  interfere  with  the  state  and  its- 
politicians.     Such  has,  in  fact,  been  the  settled  policy  and 
practice  of  the  church  in  this  country  from  the  very  begin- 
ning of  the  Republic  ;  indeed,  before  its  establishment,  and 
during  the  first  movements  of  the  Colonies  for  declaring  and 
securing  their  independence  of   the   mother  country.     We 
were  lately  shown  a  highly  interesting  paper,  in  the  hand- 
writing of  the  venerable  John  Carroll,  the  first  Bishop  of  Bal- 
timore.    It  was  written  early  in    1776,  fourteen  years  before 
he  was  consecrated  Bishop,  and  contains  a  copy  of  his  reply- 
to  the  invitation  extended  to  him  bv  the  Colonial  Congress. 
to  accompany  Franklin,  Chase,  and  Charles  Carroll  on  their 
mission  to  Canada.     Only  a  fragment  of  the  reply  remains ; 
but   in   the   portion   which   has   been   preserved   the  future 
founder  and  father  of  the  American  hierarchy  furnishes  some 
of  his  reasons  for  wishing  to  decline  this  honorable  mission,, 
the  principal  of  which  was,  that   it   would   involve   him   in 
political  affairs,  for  which  his  education  and  profession  dis- 
qualified him,  and  to  which  his  sacred  calling  and  his  sense 
of  honor  offered  an  insuperable   barrier.     If  he  was  after- 
wards induced  to  accompany  the  envoys,  we  may  be  sure 
that  his  religious  scruples  were  respected,  and  that  he  was. 
allowed   to   confine   his    co-operation    to    duties    strictly   in 
accordance  with  his  religious  calling.      However  this   may 
be,  the  passage  which  forcibly  struck  us  in  the  fragmentary 
paper  just  referred  to  is  the  following:  'I  hope  I  maybe 
allowed  to  add  that,  though  I  have  but  little  regard  for  my 
personal  safety  amidst  the  present  distress  of  my  country,, 
yet    I    cannot  help  feeling  some    for   my  character ;  and   I 
have  observed  that  when  the  ministers  of  religion  leave  the 


The  Duties  of  Ecclesiastics.  239^ 

duties  of  their  profession  to  take  a  busy  part  in  political 
matters,  they  generally  fall  into  contempt,  and  sometimes 
even  bring  discredit  to  the  cause  in  whose  service  they  are 
engaged.'  This  sentence  states  a  principle  which  should 
be  written  in  letters  of  gold. 

"  That  it  has  been  faithfully  adhered  to  by  the  Catholic- 
Church  in  the  United  States  no  one,  we  think,  even  slightly 
acquainted  with  its  history,  will  be  tempted  to  doubt.  No- 
political  discussions  have  been  allowed  in  our  ecclesiastical 
synods  and  councils,  whose  deliberations  have  been  exclu- 
sively confined  to  questions  connected  with  the  faith, 
morals,  and  discipline  of  the  church.  So  far  as  we  have, 
been  able  to  ascertain,  no  bishop  or  priest  of  the  church 
has  even  thought  of  bringing  up  such  matters  in  our  coun- 
cils, so  general  and  deep  was  the  conviction  that  these 
subjects  belong  to  politicians,  and  would  be  wholly  out  of 
place  in  ecclesiastical  meetings.  As  the  state  has  not  in- 
terfered with  the  church,  she  has  not  sought  to  interfere 
with  the  state.  She  asks  nothing  of  the  state  beyond  the 
protection  of  life  and  property  and  the  freedom  of  action 
accorded  to  all  good  and  law-abiding  citizens,  which  the 
state  in  this  country  willingly  grants;  and  thus,  both  church 
and  state  move  onward  in  their  respective  spheres  in  good 
understanding  and  harmony.  These  principles  have  been 
officially  proclaimed  on  all  proper  occasions.  I  need  but 
refer  to  the  pastoral  letters  of  the  fathers  of  the  Provincial 
Councils  of  New  York  and  Cincinnati,  held  about  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war,  and  to  the  pastoral  letter  of  Arch- 
bishop Kenrick  of  Baltimore,  of  the  same  date,  who  was 
prevented  from  holding  a  council  by  the  troubled  condition 
of  his  province.  These  official  announcements  created  no- 
surprise,  for  they  simply  declared  the  fixed,  time-honored, 
and  well-known  policy  of  the  church  in  this  country.  They 
gave  no   umbrage  to  the  government,   for  they  were   but 


240  Life  of  A7xhbisJiop  Spalding. 

the  expression  of  the  logical  consequences  of  the  relations 
of  church  and  state  as  they  exist  in  the  American  Re- 
public." 

Bishop  Spalding  has  not  here  advanced  any  theory  as 
to  the  natural  and  proper  relations  of  the  church  and  state 
prescinding  from  pre-existing  circumstances.  He  has  sim- 
ply stated  what  are  the  actual  relations  of  the  two  powers 
in  our  political  organization,  and  has  shown  that  the  church 
accepts  the  situation  with  the  most  perfect  loyalty,  without 
mental  reservation,  and  with  the  full  and  explicit  purpose 
of  abiding  by  all  the  logical  consequences  of  her  position 
in  this  country. 

In  January,  i860.  Bishop  Spalding  began  to  keep  a  kind 
of  journal,  which  he  continued  down  to  the  time  of  his 
translation  to  the  see  of  Baltimore,  in  1864.  From  this 
journal  I  shall  make  such  extracts  as  in  my  opinion  tend 
to  illustrate  his  character  or  to  throw  light  upon  his  history. 
During  the  months  of  January  and  February,  i860,  he  was 
engaged  in  revising  and  preparing  for  the  press  his  History 
of  the  Reformation.  It  had  been  his  intention  to  deliver, 
during  the  winter  of  i860,  a  course  of  lectures  in  the  cathe- 
dral of  Louisville,  on  the  "  Philosophy  of  Christianity," 
but  he  was  prevented  by  ill  health  and  press  of  business. 
He  proposed,  had  he  been  permitted  to  deliver  these  lec- 
tures, to  publish  them.  The  great  tendency  to  deism  and 
naturalism  in  religious  matters,  which  exists  so  generally  in 
this  country,  called,  he  thought,  for  a  work  which  would 
treat,  from  an  American  standpoint,  the  question  of  reason 
and  revelation.  About  the  middle  of  February,  he  went  to 
Washington  City,  upon  the  invitation  of  Professor  Henry. 
to  deliver  a  course  of  lectures  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

"  I  have  been  invited  by  Professor  Henry,"  he  wrote  to 
Archbishop  Kenrick,  "  to  lecture  in  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution.    Before  accepting,  I  should  feel  more  at  ease  to  have 


Episcopal  Labors.  241 

the  advice  and  approval  of  the  ordinary,  though  lecturing 
is  not  an  ecclesiastical  function.  I  wish  also  to  have  your 
opinion  as  to  the  subjects  which  I  should  treat.  I  had 
thought  of  lecturing  on  the  history  and  elements  of  modern 
civilization,  which  would  give  me  an  opportunity  to  state 
what  the  Catholic  Church  has  done  for  society  without 
trenching  upon  controversial  ground." 

In  a  letter  to  the  Archbishop,  written  after  his  arrival  in 
Washington,  he  says  :  "  I  lectured  last  evening  to  a  very 
large  and  respectable  audience.  Professor  Henry  expressed 
his  entire  satisfaction,  and  requested  me  to  prolong  the 
course,  which,  on  account  of  my  Baltimore  engagement,  I 
cannot  well  do.  I  trust  these  lectures  may  do  some  good." 
Before  returning  home,  he  lectured  in  Baltimore,  New  York, 
Brooklyn,  Boston,  and  other  cities. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Bishop  Spalding  induced  the 
Brothers  of  Christian  Instruction  to  open  a  school  in  Louis- 
ville, and  to  take  charge  of   the   male  orphan  asylum.     A 
new  colony  of  Xaverian  Brothers  also  arrived  from  Belgium 
during  the  summer  of  this  year.      The   Franciscan   Fathers 
of  the   order  of  Minor  Conventuals  were  received  into  the 
diocese  in   the  spring,   and  later  they  took  charge  of  St. 
Peter's  church,  in  Louisville,  a  German  congregation   which 
had  recently  been  established.    A  house  for  the  Magdalencs 
had  just  been   erected  on   Eighth  Street,   and    the    Bishop 
blessed  it  on  the  14th  of  April.     During  the  greater  part  of 
this  spring  he  was  occupied  in  visiting  his  diocese.     In  June 
he  received  a  letter  from  the  rector  of  the  American  Collefie 
in  Louvain,  recommending  that  it  be  placed  u.-der  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Propaganda.     "  This,"  he  writes  in  his  journal, 
*'  has  already   been  done  substantially  by  a  joint  letter  of 
Bishops  Lefevre  and   Spalding."     In  August,  Father  Snia- 
rius,  the   Jesuit    missionary,  preached    the    retreat    for  the 
clergy  of   the   diocese,  at    the    close  of   which  two  confer- 


242  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

ences  were  held,  in  which  the  Bishop,  who  had  attended  alB 
the  exercises,  gave  his  charge,  and  promulgated  the  decrees 
of  the  Second  Provincial  Council  of  Cincinnati.  He  also- 
gave  to  each  missionary  a  bound  volume,  containing  the 
decrees  of  the  two  Diocesan  Synods  of  Louisville,  of  the 
two  Provincial  Councils  of  Cincinnati,  and  of  the  first 
eight  Councils  of  Baltimore.  He  thought  the  best  way  to- 
develop  a  more  perfect  system  of  ecclesiastical  law  in  this 
country  was  to  observe  faithfully  what  already  exists. 

In  the  fall  he  continued  the  visitation  of  the  diocese,, 
which  had  been  interrupted  during  the  summer.  New 
churches  had  been  built  within  the  last  year  or  two  in 
Hawesville,  Hickman,  Bowling  Green,  Chicago,  Clover  Port^ 
Shelbyville,  at  St.  Vincent's,  and  on  Casey  Creek.  These 
were  all  dedicated  to  divine  service.  In  the  beginning  of 
November  he  preached  the  retreat  for  the  students  of  St. 
Joseph's  College,  nearly  two  hundred  in  number,  forty  of 
whom  were  Protestants.  On  the  22d  of  November,  St. 
Cecilia's  Day,  he  delivered  the  address  at  the  opening  of  the 
Catholic  Institute  in  Cincinnati,  and  on  the  2d  of  Decem- 
ber he  preached  at  the  solemn  consecration  of  the  new 
church  of  St.  John,  in  Louisville ;  and  a  few  weeks  later  he 
returned  to  Cincinnati  to  preach  at  the  dedication  of  the 
beautiful  church  of  St.  Xavier. 

Whilst  in  Cincinnati  he  examined  the  students  in  theology 
and  philosophy,  of  Mount  St.  Mary's.  The  diocese  of 
Louisville  had  at  this  time  fourteen  students  in  theology. 

Upon  his  return  he  began  a  course  of  lectures  in  the 
cathedral  on  t.^e  Old  Testament.  Ever  solicitous  that  even 
the  poorest  congregations  in  his  diocese  should  enjoy  the 
greatest  possible  spiritual  advantages,  he  appointed,  in  the 
beginning  of  1861,  one  of  his  priests  to  give  missions  in  the 
remoter  parts  of  the  State. 

In  March  of  this  year,  Bishop  Spalding  visited  the  diocese 


Episcopal  La  dot's.  245 

of  Fort  Wayne,  upon  the  invitation  of  Bishop  Luers,  to  lec- 
ture in  various  places  for  churches  that  were  in  debt  and  for 
other  charitable  objects. 

Returning  home,  he  preached  the  retreat  at  Nazareth, 
beginning  on  the  Feast  of  St.  Joseph  ;  and  then,  at  the 
request  of  Archbishop  Purccll,  he  wrote  the  pastoral  letter 
of  the  Third  Provincial  Council  of  Cincinnati,  which  was  to 
be  held  in  May. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  THE  CHURCH  IN  KENTUCKY — STATE 
OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF  LOUISVILLE — BISHOP  SPALDING  IS 
APPOINTED   TO   THE   SEE    OF   BALTIMORE. 

jHE  danger  of  civil  war  was  now  becoming  each 
day  more  imminent,  and  Bishop  Spalding  en- 
joined that  the  prayer  for  peace  should  be  said 
in  his  diocese  at  all  the  Masses.  At  the  opening 
of  the  Provincial  Council,  he  preached  on  the  peace  of  God. 
On  almost  every  page  of  his  journal  he  gives  evidence  of 
the  great  anxiety  which  the  troubled  state  of  the  country 
caused  him  to  feel.  After  the  first  battles,  he  ordered  the 
solemn  service  for  the  dead  to  be  held  in  all  the  Catholic 
churches  of  the  city,  and  in  the  cathedral  he  addressed  the 
multitude  which  had  assembled,  exhorting  them  to  pray 
for  the  return  of  peace  and  brotherly  love.  A  recruiting- 
camp  had  been  formed  in  Indiana,  opposite  Louisville,  in 
which  large  numbers  of  soldiers  were  enlisted  and  got 
ready  for  service  in  the  field.  Bishop  Spalding,  thinking 
only  of  souls,  obtained  permission  of  General  Rousseau, 
who  was  in  command,  to  send  priests  to  the  camp  to 
instruct  and  prepare  the  Catholic  soldiers  before  their 
departure  for  the  scene  of  war. 

By  the  efforts  of  the  missionaries,  nearly  all  of  them  were 
induced  to  approach  the  sacraments,  which,  for  many,  was 
the  first  time  in  years.  Quite  a  number,  indeed,  had  never 
received  communion  before. 

The  church  in  Kentucky  soon  began  to  feel  the  evil 
effects  of  the  war,  especially  in  its  institutions  of  learning, 


The  Civil    War  and  tJic  ChurcJi.  245 

which,  when  the  civil  strife  broke  forth,  were  in  a  most  pros- 
perous condition.  St.  Joseph's  College,  which  had  nearly 
two  hundred  students  in  i860,  was  closed  in  the  fall  of  1861, 
and  converted  into  a  hospital,  by  military  authority.  At 
Nazareth,  which,  during  the  previous  year,  had  had  two 
hundred  and  fifty  pupils,  there  were  now  only  forty.  St. 
Mary's  College,  which  for  several  years  had  been  unable  to 
accommodate  all  who  applied  for  admission,  was  left  almost 
without  students.  St.  Thomas',  which  had  been  raised  to 
the  rank  of  a  Provincial  Seminary  in  the  First  Council  of 
Cincinnati,  and  which,  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  was 
in  quite  a  prosperous  condition,  soon  languished  and  de- 
clined in  consequence  of  the  disturbed  and  unsettled  state 
of  things  in  Kentucky  ;  and  the  other  academies  and  schools 
of  the  diocese  suffered  in  a  similar  manner. 

In  the  summer  of  1861,  Bishop  Spalding  went  East.  He 
preached  at  the  dedication  of  the  church  of  Our  Lady  of 
Peace,  at  Niagara  Falls.  At  Saratoga  he  preached  again 
and  lectured.  In  Philadelphia,  he  gave  the  retreat  to  the 
clergy  of  the  diocese. 

During  this  visit,  he  receiveo  from  a  well-known  priest  of 
Philadelphia  a  burse  of  two  thousand  dollars  for  St.  Thomas' 
Seminary.  He  arrived  home  in  September,  in  time  to  cele- 
brate the  anniversary  of  the  dedication  of  the  cathedral,  and 
to  preside  at  the  opening  of  the  mission  which  was  to  be 
preached  to  the  congregation  by  the  well-known  Jesuit 
Fathers,  Smarius  and  Damen.  Missions  were  given,  about 
the  same  time,  to  the  congregations  of  St.  Patrick  and  St. 
John.  Six  thousand  five  hundred  persons  approached  the 
sacraments  in  the  three  parishes,  and  fifty  converts  were 
received  into  the  church.  In  the  fall  and  winter  of  1861, 
the  outlook  in  Kei-itucky  was  anything  but  encouraging. 
A  hundred  thousand  Federal  troops  lay  between  Louis- 
ville  and    Bowling   Green,  and   the   State,  south  of  Green 


246  Life  of  Arxlibishop  Spalding. 

River,  was  held  by  a  large  Confederate  force.  Everything 
seemed  to  indicate  that  Kentucky  was  to  become  the  great 
battle-ground  of  the  war. 

"  My  diocese,"  wrote  Bishop  Spalding,  "  is  cut  in  twain 
by  this  unhappy  war,  and  I  must  attend  to  souls  without 
entering  into   the   angry  political   discussion." 

He  did  all  that  lay  in  his  power  to  provide  for  the  spirit- 
ual wants,  and,  in  a  measure,  the  bodily  comfort,  of  the 
soldiers,  without  stopping  to  enquire  on  which  side  they 
were  fighting.  To  General  Anderson,  the  Federal  officer  in 
command  of  his  department,  he  offered  the  services  of  the 
Sisters  of  Charity,  to  nurse  gratuitously  the  sick  and 
wounded.  The  offer  was  accepted,  and  the  Sisters  were 
soon  placed  in  charge  of  most  of  the  hospitals.  In  those 
-of  Louisville  alone,  there  were  at  one  time  over  four  thou- 
sand sick  and  wounded  soldiers. 

What  our  noble  Sisters  did  around  those  beds  of  agony 
to  alleviate  human  suffering  has  not  been  written.  Their 
deeds  belong  to  God's  history,  and  when  the  final  reckoning 
is  made  they,  perhaps,  may  weigh  more  than  victories  won 
or  battles  lost.  In  the  hospitals  of  Louisville  they  baptized 
over  six  hundred  men,  who,  when  the  world  was  fading 
from  sight,  sought  the  light  of  heaven.  These  Sisters  of 
Nazareth  also  ministered  in  the  hospitals  at  Paducah,  and 
possibly  in  other  places  in  Kentucky.  In  January,  i§62,  it 
was  rumored  that  the  Nazareth  Convent  was  to  be  taken 
possession  of  by  the  soldiers,  which  would  have  left  many 
of  the  Sisters  without  a  home.  Bishop  Spalding,  upon  hear- 
ing the  report,  at  once  wrote  to  General  Wood,  of  the  Con- 
federate army,  to  beg  him  not  to  allow  the  Sisters  to  be  dis- 
turbed ;  and  in  reply  General  Wood  called  himself  at  Naza- 
reth, to  assure  the  mother- superioress  of  his  protection.  He 
behaved,  said  Bishop  Spalding,  like  a  Kentucky  gentleman. 
**  I  have  endeavored,"  he  wrote  in  his  journal,  "  to  do  my 


The   Civil    War  and  the  Church.  247 

duty  towards  the  poor  soldiers  without  regard  to  the  excit- 
ing poHtical  issues."  On  the  6th  of  February  he  made  the 
following  entry:  "Sister  Catharine  died  at  the  hospital 
from  fever,  contracted  in  nursing  the  sick  soldiers.  She  fol- 
lows to  heaven  her  good  sister,  Mary  Lucy,  who  died  a  few 
weeks  ago,  at  Paducah,  a  martyr  to  charity." 

In  January,  1862,  Bishop  Spalding  went,  with  Archbishop 
Purcell,  to  visit  the  camp  on  Green  River.  .  They  remained 
here  several  days,  preaching,  hearing  confessions,  and  giving 
confirmation.  "  Much  good,"  he  writes  in  his  journal,  "  was 
accomplished.  May  God  arrest  this  unhappy  war.  Dona 
nobis  pacemy 

February  13:  "  The  Rev.  Joseph  Haseltine  died  suddenly 
about  four  o'clock  this  morning,  in  the  seventy-fourth  year 
of  his  life.  He  had  risen  somewhat  earlier  than  usual,  and, 
when  found,  he  was  on  his  knees,  his  right  hand  raised  to 
his  forehead,  as  if  in  the  act  of  making  the  sign  of  the  cross." 

Father  Haseltine  was  born  in  Concord,  New  Hampshire, 
and  was  brought  up  according  to  the  strictest  sect  of  the 
Puritans.  When  about  twenty-five  years  old,  he  went  to 
live  in  Montreal,  where  contact  with  Catholics  led  him  to 
■examine  into  the  doctrines  of  the  church.  He  was  soon 
convinced  that  it  is  the  only  true  church,  and  on  Christmas 
Day,  181 8,  he  made  his  solemn  profession  of  faith  in  the 
parish  church  of  the  Sulpicians,  in  Montreal.  Desiring  to 
devote  his  life  exclusively  to  the  service  of  God,  he  was 
advised  by  the  Sulpicians  to  apply  to  Bishop  Flaget,  at 
Bardstown.  For  sixteen  years  he  remained  in  St.  Joseph's 
College,  fulfilling  the  duties  of  agent  and  chief  disciplina- 
rian ;  and,  after  this  long  probation,  was  ordained  priest  by 
Bishop  David,  in  1835.  He  was  soon  appointed,  at  the 
suggestion  of  Bishop  David,  Ecclesiastical  Superior  of  the 
Nazareth  Sisterhood,  which  office  he  continued  to  hold  to 
the  day  of  his  death.     He  was  remarkable  for  his  scrupulous 


248  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

exactness  and  regularity  in  the  performance  of  every  duty. 
He  rose  punctually  at  four  o'clock,  and  devoted  two  hours 
to  prayer,  meditation,  and  the  recitation  of  the  divine  office 
before  celebrating  Mass,  which  he  invariably  began  at  the 
first  stroke  of  the  community  bell.  Sickness  and  the  infir- 
mities of  age  had  but  sweetened  and  mellowed  in  him  a 
disposition  naturally  gentle. 

He  was  a  worthy  member  of  the  noble  band  of  early  Ken- 
tucky priests ;  and  the  memory  of  his  peaceful  and  beau- 
tiful life  is  treasured  up  in  the  hearts  of  those  for  whom  he 
labored  so  long  and  so  faithfully.  The  little  of  this  world's 
goods  that  belonged  to  him  he  left  to  the  orphans. 

In  March,  1862,  a  bill  was  presented  to  the  Legislature  of 
Kentucky,  requiring  clergymen  to  take  a  test-oath,  as  a  pre- 
liminary condition  to  their  being  allowed  to  perform  the 
ceremony  of  marriage.  In  a  letter  to  the  Governor,  Bishop 
Spalding  protested  against  this  bill,  as  an  infringement  upon 
the  rights  of  the  church.  The  assistance  of  the  priest  at  the 
marriage  contract  is,  he  said,  in  the  eyes  of  the  church,  a 
purely  religious  act,  and  since  under  the  Constitution  there 
is  no  union  of  church  and  state,  the  state  has  no  right  ta 
impose  conditions  upon  the  performance  of  spiritual  func- 
tions. 

Taking  this  as  a  precedent,  the  Legislature  might  demand 
a  test-oath  as  a  condition  to  the  performance  of  any  reli- 
gious office  whatever,  which  is  subversive  of  all  freedom 
of  conscience,  and  directly  opposed  to  the  principles  upon 
which  our  government  is  based. 

This  bill,  which  passed  through  both  Houses  of  the  Legis- 
lature, was  prevented  from  becoming  a  law,  during  that  ses- 
sion at  least,  by  the  veto  of  Governor  Magoffin,  who,  it 
seems,  approved  of  the  views  advanced  by  Bishop  Spalding 
in  his  letter  of  exceptions. 

The  feeling  in  favor  of  the  bill,  however,  was  so  strong. 


The  Civil   War  ajid  the  Church.  249 

that  in  the  following  year  it  was  made  a  law  of  the  State, 
and  Bishop  Spalding  himself  took  the  oath,  under  the  fol- 
lowing protest : 

"  In  compliance  with  the  act  of  the  last  Legislature  of 
Kentucky,  I,  as  a  law-abiding  citizen,  take  the  following 
oath,  deeming  it  my  duty,  however,  to  protest  against  the 
same  as  a  precedent,  chiefly  on  the  ground,  among  other 
reasons,  that  it  requires  a  civil  act  as  an  essential  prelimi- 
nar\^  to  the  performance  of  a  spiritual  office — marriage  being 
regarded  by  the  Catholic  Church  and  by  all  the  old  churches, 
embracing  nearly  five-sixths  of  Christendom,  as  a  sacrament, 
and  consequently  as  belonging  to  the  spiritual  order,  and 
therefore,  according  to  the  spirit  of  our  Constitution,  not 
subject,  for  its  performance  by  a  Christian  minister,  to  merely 
civil  laws." 

In  August,  1862,  the  clergy  entered  into  retreat  at  St. 
Joseph's  College,  at  the  close  of  which  the  third  and  last 
synod  of  the  diocese  of  Louisville  was  held.  In  synod. 
Bishop  Spalding  granted  full  liberty  of  discussion,  and  lis- 
tened with  patience  to  the  suggestions  of  those  who  had 
anything  to  say,  it  being  his  desire  that  his  priests  should 
take  part  in  framing  the  laws  by  which  they  were  to  be 
governed.  Judices  causariun  were  appointed,  who,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Bishop,  took  an  oath  to  discharge  faithfully 
the  duties  of  their  office  ;  and  before  them,  whoever  thought 
himself  wrongly  censured  or  unjustly  treated  had  the  right 
to  bring  his  case. 

Scarcely  was  the  synod  ended,  when  General  Bragg,  at  the 
head  of  a  large  army,  entered  Kentucky,  and  marched  with- 
out opposition  to  within  forty  miles  of  Louisville,  where  the 
Federal  troops  were  not  at  all  prepared  to  meet  him.  The 
wildest  excitement  prevailed  in  the  city.  General  Nelson,, 
who  was  in  command,  ordered  the  women  and  children  to 
be  ready  to  leave  at  a  moment's  notice,  as  the  arrival  of  the 


250  Life  of  Ai'chbishop  Spalding. 

Confederate  army  was  hourly  expected.  Indeed,  it  was 
reported  that  Bragg  had  defeated  Buell,  and  was  already  in 
sight  of  Louisville.  Men,  who  had  ascended  the  towers  of 
the  churches,  announced  that  they  could  see  the  dust  and 
hear  the  din  of  the  approaching  army.  To  add  to  the  gene- 
ral terror,  Nelson,  it  was  said,  intended  to  burn  the  city  in 
case  he  should  be  forced  to  abandon  it.  Thousands  crossed 
the  Ohio  to  seek  refuge  in  Indiana,  where  some  died  from 
-exposure. 

On  the  day  when  the  panic  was  greatest,  Bishop  Spalding 
wrote  in  his  journal :  "  God  knows  what  is  best  for  his  own 
glory,  and,  after  chastising  us  for  our  manifold  sins,  he  will 
have  mercy  and  spare  us.  For  myself,  I  am  resolved,  with 
his  holy  grace,  to  live  and  die  with  my  children.  I  shall 
not  leave  my  post,  nor  the  sanctuary  which  I  love.  There 
my  bones  may  be  laid  in  the  tomb  prepared  for  me  by  the 
side  of  my  saintly  predecessor.  This  is  my  last  will  and  testa- 
ment, not  knowing  what  to-morrow  may  bring  forth.  God 
help  me  and  my  people  ;  may  our  sweet  Mother  in  heaven 
•smile  upon  and  protect  us  in  this  hour  of  direst  need." 

September  29,  he  adds  : 

"  This   morning   General    Nelson   was    shot    in    the    Gait 
House.     Alas!   the  poor  soul  of  the  fallen." 

During  this  time  of  tribulation.  Bishop  Spalding  had 
tiovenas  for  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  country  offered  up 
in  all  the  churches  and  religious  communities  of  the  diocese. 
"  Christ  will  hear  us,"  he  writes,  "  and  his  Mother  will  be 
our  Mother  in  this  day  of  our  greatest  woe.  I  have  the 
fullest  confidence  in  her,  my  own  sweet  Mother  in  heaven." 
To  add  to  Bishop  Spalding's  sorrows,  the  Jesuits  wished,  at 
this  time,  to  give  up  St.  Joseph's  College,  and  to  leave  the 
diocese.  The  college  had  been  closed,  and  affairs  were  so 
unsettled  that  they  preferred  to  go  where  they  could  do 
greater  good.     The  Bishop,  however,  could  not  consent  to 


The  Civil   War  and  the  Church.  251 

lose  them,  and   he  therefore  strenuously  opposed   them   in 
their  desire  to  leave  Kentucky. 

A  lengthy  correspondence  between  himself  and  the  Visi- 
tor of  the  order  took  place  on  the  subject,  the  result  of 
which  was,  that  the  Jesuits  agreed  to  remain  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  provided  the  Bishop  should  consent  to 
allow  them  to  withdraw  then,  in  case  they  should  be  unable 
longer  to  carry  on  the  college. 

To  this  Bishop  Spalding  gave  his  assent,  upon  condition 
that  the  question  should  be  left  to  the  final  decision  of  the 
Metropolitan  of  Cincinnati  or  of  St.  Louis,  to  both  of  whom 
he  submitted  copies  of  the  correspondence.  The  matter 
rested  here,  and  Bishop  Spalding  was  spared  the  grief  of 
seeing  the  Jesuits  leave  Kentucky,  so  long  as  he  remained 
Bishop  of  Louisville. 

July  8,  1863,  he  makes  the  following  entry  in  his  journal : 
*'■  The  greatest,  the  best,  and  the  most  learned  of  our  prelates 
was  found  dead  in  his  bed  this  morning.  The  venerable 
Dr.  Kenrick  is  no  more  in  this  world,  but  is  doubtless  ir/ 
heaven  praying  for  us." 

Little  more  than  a  year  before,  Archbishop  Kenrick  had 
written  the  following  note  to  Bishop  Spalding,  which 
almost  seems  prophetic  of  his  own  death  : 

"  I  thank  you  for  communicating  the  intelligence  of  the 
death  of  good  Mr.  Haseltine,  who,  I  trust,  was  well  pre- 
pared to  meet  his  Master.  Father  Nicholas  Steinbacher, 
S.J.,  the  German  translator  of  my  Primacy,  died  still  more 
suddenly,  a  few  days  ago,  at  Boston.  He  was  found  dead 
in  his  bed.  He  was  a  priest  of  learning  and  zeal.  We 
know  not  the  day  or  the  hour.  Father  Steinbacher  was  of 
my  age." 

The  suffering  and  distress  caused  by  the  war,  which 
seemed  to  grow  more  bloody  with  time,  which  brought  no 
hope   of    peace,    threw    a   gloom    over    Bishop    Spalding's 


252  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

thoughts.  "  The  future  of  our  church,  as  of  our  country/ 
he  wrote,  "  is  very  uncertain.  Everything  looks  dark.  But 
the   church  will   stand,  however  persecuted.      Deus  Provu 

debar 

July  17. — "  I  went  to  Indianapolis,  to  lecture  to  a  meet- 
ing, over  which  the  mayor  presided,  with  a  view  to  estab- 
lish a  house  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  in  that 
city.  Several  speeches  by  Protestant  gentlemen,  confirma- 
tory of  my  remarks,  and  various  offers  of  contributions, 
were  made." 

Two  days  later,  he  preached  at  the  dedication  of  the  new 
church  in  Logansport,  Indiana,  and  in  the  evening  he  lec- 
tured to  a  large  audience,  many  of  whom  were  Protestants. 
He  thence  proceeded  to  Buffalo,  where  he  preached  twice. 
Of  Bishop  Timon  he  writes  :  "  How  I  admired  his  zeal  and 
his  works.  Et  omnia  qiicEciinqiie  faciei,  prosperabuntiir." 
In  August,  he  lectured  in  the  cathedral  of  Cincinnati, 
before  a  convention  for  establishing  a  normal  school.  In 
the  same  month,  he  preached  at  the  consecration  of  the 
cathedral  of  Buffalo,  and  thence  went  to  Canada  to  deliver 
lectures  in  Hamilton  and  Toronto.  Returning  home,  he 
made  arrangements  to  have  missions  given,  during  the  fall, 
in  all  the  principal  country  congregations  of  his  diocese. 
These  missions,  which  were  preached  by  two  bands  of 
Jesuit  Fathers,  reawakened  the  faith  and  zeal  of  the  Catho- 
lic populations,  and  also  led  to  the  conversion  of  a  great 
many  Protestants. 

During  the  fall  and  winter  of  1863,  Bishop  Spalding  pre- 
pared for  the  press  and  published  the  Eight  Days  Retreat  of 
Father  David,  who  had  been  his  own  spiritual  director.  "  I 
could  have  wished,"  he  says,  with  a  modesty  which  was  not 
assumed,  "  that  some  one  more  skilled  in  the  spiritual  life 
had  undertaken  to  edit  this  work.  But,  having  failed  in  my 
efforts  to  induce  some  member  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  to 


State  of  the  Diocese  of  Louisville.  253 

perform  the  task,  I  decided  to  do  the  best  I  could  un«ier  the 
circumstances;  and  for  this  purpose,  I  drew  on  my  notes  of 
retreats  which  were  preached  to  the  students  of  the  Propa- 
ganda College  in  Rome,  about  thirty  years  ago,  by  some  of 
the  most  eminent  disciples  of  St.  Ignatius,  including  the 
General  of  the  order." 

Of  the  twenty-four  meditations  which  make  up  the  eight 
days'  retreat,  three  were  wanting  in  the  manuscript  of 
Bishop  David.  These  were  supplied  by  Bishop  Spalding, 
who  also  added  whatever  he  thought  necessary  to  make  the 
manual  more  complete. 

The  biographical  sketch  of  Bishop  David,  which  serves  as 
an  introduction  to  the  volume,  is  full  of  interest,  and  is 
another  instance  of  the  loving  care  with  which  Dr.  Spal- 
ding has  sought  to  embalm  the  memory  of  his  early 
teachers. 

This  brings  us  down  to  1864,  in  which  year  Bishop  Spal- 
ding was  appointed  to  fill  the  see  of  Baltimore,  made  vacant 
by  the  death  of  Archbishop  Kenrick. 

In  1848,  when  he  was  made  Coadjutor  of  Bishop  Flaget, 
the  whole  Catholic  population  of  the  State  of  Kentucky  was 
probably  thirty  thousand.  Sixteen  years  had  since  elapsed, 
and  within  that  period  Eastern  Kentucky  hlad  been  formed 
into  a  separate  diocese,  with  the  see  at  Covington.  In  1864, 
the  Catholic  population  of  the  diocese  of  Louisville  alone 
was  seventy  thousand — more  than  double  that  of  the  entire 
State  in  1848.  In  1848,  there  were  but  forty-three  Catholic 
churches  in  the  State;  in  1864,  there  were  eighty-five  in  the 
diocese  of  Louisville. 

There  had  been  a  proportionate  increase  in  the  number 
of  priests. 

During  his  administration  of  sixteen  years,  five  new 
churches  had  been  built  in  the  city  of  Louisville,  includ- 
ing the  cathedral,  which  alone  was   capable  of   accomnio- 


2  54  ^if^  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

dating  as  many  people  as  all  the  Catholic  churches  of  the- 
city  at  the  time  of  his  consecration,  whilst  two  of  the  old. 
churches  of  the  city  had  been  considerably  enlarged. 

Parochial  schools  had  been  organized,  for  which  Bishop • 
Spalding  had  secured  the  services  of  religious  Brothers  and. 
Sisters,  who  had  in  their  charge  nearly  as  many  children  as. 
frequented  the  public  schools  of  the  city.  The  diocese  was. 
well  supplied  with  colleges  and  academies  for  the  demands, 
of  higher  education.  The  number  of  religious  women  in^ 
the  diocese,  belonging  to  the  different  communities,  and  de- 
voting their  lives  to  the  service  of  God  and  their  neighbor, 
was  not  less  than  six  hundred. 

In  building  churches  and  in  making  other  improvements,, 
no  debts  not  easily  manageable  had  been  contracted. 

Outside  of  what  might  in  the  stricter  sense  be  called 
church  property,  the  diocese  possessed  valuable  real  estate 
in  Louisville  and  Chicago,  which,  together  with  a  consider- 
able amount  of  bank  and  railroad  stock,  served  as  a  sinking- 
fund,  whilst  it  enabled  the  Bishop  to  render  assistance  m 
starting  new  churches,  and  in  helping  on  works  of  charity. 

Conferences  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  had  been  established,, 
which  served  the  double  purpose  of  giving  relief  to  the  poor, 
and  of  holding  the  men  in  the  congregations  where  the  so- 
ciety existed  to  the  practice  of  their  religious  duties.  In 
the  synods  and  diocesan  statutes,  Bishop  Spalding  had  done 
all  that  could  be  done  to  introduce  law  and  uniformity  of 
practice  in  the  government  of  the  diocese,  and  the  result 
was  a  union  of  love  and  confidence  between  Bishop,  priests,., 
and  people. 

Slavery  and  the  fanaticism  of  the  Louisville  Know-Noth- 
ings  had,  in  a   great   measure,  prevented  immigration  into. 
Kentucky,  and  the  increase  of  the  Catholic  population  was, 
in  consequence,  less  rapid  there  than  in  some  other  parts  of 
the    Republic;    but    nowhere   were   efforts    more  fionest  or 


State  of  the  Diocese  of  Louisville.  255 

earnest  made  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  growing  church  of 
this  country,  than  in  the  diocese  of  Louisville  whilst  Bishop 
Spalding  was  at  its  head. 

When,  therefore,  on  the  nth  of  June,  1864,  he  received 
the  Papal  rescript  which  elevated  him  to  the  first  and  most 
honorable  position  in  the  church  of  the  United  States, 
though  this  mark  of  confidence  from  the  highest  ecclesias- 
tical authority,  which  was  also  a  recognition  of  his  services 
in  the  cause  of  religion,  could  not  but  be  pleasing  to  a  na- 
ture keenly  sensible  to  kindness  and  to  the  sympathetic 
appreciation  of  friends,  yet  the  newly  conferred  dignity  was 
associated  in  Bishop  Spalding's  mind  with  painful  rather 
than  pleasurable  feelings.  In  Kentucky  he  was  at  home, 
surrounded  by  kindred  and  by  friends,  tried  and  true,  who 
had  grown  up  with  him,  and  whose  love  from  long  continu- 
ance had  become  almost  a  necessity  ;  so  that,  as  he  him- 
self expressed  it,  his  very  heart-strings  were  torn  and  lace- 
rated by  this  sudden  severance. 

His  relations  with  his  priests  were  those  of  an  older  with 
younger  brothers.  They  trusted  him,  and,  with  but  few- 
exceptions,  loved  him.  In  the  religious  institutions  of  the 
diocese,  which  were  "  his  joy  and  his  crown,"  he  was  as  a 
father  in  the  midst  of  the  most  devoted  children,  whose 
eyes  were  brighter  and  whose  voices  were  merrier  because 
he  was  there.  Much  that  he  beheld  around  him  to  gladden 
his  heart  he  himself  had  built  up.  There  were  no  financial 
troubles  to  embarrass  or  discourage  him.  In  his  brother, 
the  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Spalding,  who,  as  the  truest  of  friends, 
had  stood  by  his  side  during  his  whole  episcopal  life,  he 
possessed  an  adviser  whose  business  capacity  and  practical 
judgment  could  hardly  be  surpassed. 

No  longer  young,  and  in  feeble  health,  every  natural  sen- 
timent would  have  inclined  him  to  remain  in  Kentucky,  and 
to  walk  quietly  down  the  slope  of  life,  surrounded  and  sup- 


2^6  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

ported  by  those  to  whom  he  had  given  all  his  best  years. 
But  he  had  never  sought  his  own  ease  at  the  price  of  duty, 
and  though  he  loved  Kentucky  and  the  church  of  Kentucky, 
he  loved  the  great  cause  for  which  Christ  suffered  and  died 
still  more,  and  when  his  Vicar  laid  the  burden  on  his  shoul- 
ders, he  braced  himself  with  a  brave  heart  to  bear  it  as  be- 
came a  Christian  bishop,  saying  with  his  patron,  St.  Martin 
of  Tours,  "  Non  recuso  laboremy 

He  had  been  a  bishop  too  long  to  be  fascinated  by  the 
glitter  of  the  purple,  or  to  imagine  that  advancement  to  a 
higher  dignity  meant  anything  else  than  more  labor  and 
greater  responsibility.  He  therefore  accepted  the  appoint- 
ment to  the  see  of  Baltimore  in  the  spirit  of  the  words  of 
Pius  IX.  in  announcing  to  him  his  elevation,  "as  the  will  of 
Providence."  Sequere providentiam  was  his  favorite  and  oft- 
repeated  motto. 

One  of  his  last  official  acts  as  Bishop  of  Louisville  was  to 
assemble  his  council,  that  the  members,  as  representing  the 
clergy  of  the  diocese,  might  make  known  their  wishes  con- 
cerning the  choice  of  his  successor. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

ARCHBISHOP  SPALDING  TAKES  POSSESSION  OF  HIS  NEW 
CHARGE  —  SUMMARY  OF  IMPORTANT  FACTS  IN  THE 
HISTORY    OF    THE   ARCHDIOCESE   OF  BALTIMORE. 

NY  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  state  to  interfere 
in  the  appointment  of  bishops  is  irreconcilable 
with  the  American  theory  of  government. 
This  question  was  settled  at  the  time  of  the 
establishment  of  the  hierarchy  in  this  country,  shortly  after 
we  became  an  independent  nation.  Before  the  Revolution, 
the  Catholics  of  the  British  Provinces  of  North  America 
were,  in  spiritual  matters,  under  the  immediate  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Vicar  Apostolic  of  London.  But  when  we  had 
thrown  off  the  authority  of  Great  Britain,  the  welfare  and 
prosperity  of  the  church  here  demanded  that  it  should  have 
a  separate  and  independent  organization.  Representations 
of  the  necessity  of  a  change  in  our  ecclesiastical  status 
were  made  to  the  Pope,  who  decided  upon  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  Vicar  Apostolic  for  the  United  States. 

So  little,  however,  in  that  day,  was  the  spirit  of  the 
American  government  understood  by  even  the  most  intelli- 
gent persons,  that  it  was  thought  necessary  first  to  ask  the 
consent  of  Congress,  and  to  receive  from  that  body  sug- 
gestions as  to  the  most  suitable  person  for  the  new  office. 
With  this  view,  the  Papal  Nuncio,  at  Paris,  in  1783,  address- 
ed a  note  to  Dr.  Franklin,  who  at  the  time  represented 
the  government  of  this  country  at  the  Court  of  France, 
requesting  him  to  bring  the  subject  before  the  Congress  of 
the    United    States.       When    the    question    was   submitted 


258  Life  of  ArcJibisJiop  Spalding. 

to   Congress,  that  body  very  properly  decided   that  it   had 
nothing  to  say  on  the  subject. 

The  precedent  thus  estabhshed  of  non-interference  \n 
matters  appertaining  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  church  has 
been,  almost  without  exception,  adhered  to  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  this  country.  But  when,  during  the  excitement 
of  the  late  civil  war,  which  seemed  to  threaten  our  national 
existence,  the  two  most  important  sees — those  of  Baltimore 
and  New  York — became  vacant,  there  seemed  for  a  while  to 
be  a  disposition  to  meddle  with  the  liberty  of  action  of  the 
church  in  the  choice  of  bishops.  The  urgency  of  the  times- 
had  given  to  the  authorities  in  Washington  a  power  which 
they  had  never  before  exercised  ;  and,  as  power  often  gains 
increase  of  appetite  from  what  it  feeds  upon,  they  were 
inclined  to  stretch  their  jurisdiction  as  far  as  possible,  with- 
out having  any  very  nice  regard  for  the  limits  assigned  to 
it  by  the  organic  law  of  the  land. 

Bishop  Spalding,  under  date  of  February  7,  1864,  makes- 
the  following  entry  in  his  journal :  "  There  appears  to  be 
no  doubt  that  the  Government  has  interfered  at  Rome  in 
regard  to  the  appointments  to  the  sees  of  Baltimore  and 
New  York." 

This  brief  sentence  is  the  only  reference  which  I  have- 
been  able  to  find  among  his  papers  to  a  subject  to  which 
he  seems  not  to  have  given  more  than  a  passing  thought. 
Whether  or  not  objections  were  made  to  him  personally,  I 
do  not  know;  nor  would  the  knowledge  throw  any  light 
upon  his  history. 

The  see  of  Baltimore  is  not  only  the  oldest  in  the  United 
States,  but  it  is  also  the  first  in  point  of  dignity.  For  seve- 
ral years  after  the  establishment  of  the  hierarchy,  in  1789, 
it  was  the  only  diocese  in  this  country;  and  when,  in  1808, 
bishops  were  given  to  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and 
Bardstown,  Baltimore  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  an  archi- 


Takes  Possession  of  his  7iew  Charge.         259 

episcopal  see.  By  a  decree  of  the  Congregation  of  Propa- 
ganda, confirmed  by  Pius  IX.  on  the  25th  of  July,  1858,  the 
prerogative  of  place  is  granted  to  the  see  of  Baltimore,  so 
that  in  councils,  assemblies,  and  meetings  of  every  kind 
precedency  is  given  to  the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  for  the 
time  being,  and  the  seat  of  honor  above  any  of  the  arch- 
bishops of  these  provinces  that  may  be  present,  without 
regard  to  the  order  of  promotion  or  consecration.  At  the 
time  of  the  appointment  of  Bishop  Carroll,  Baltimore  was 
not  thought  of  at  Rome  as  his  episcopal  city  ;  but  Philadel- 
phia was  considered  the  most  proper  place  for  the  first  see 
of  the  country,  chiefly  no  doubt  because  it  was  then  the 
seat  of  the  American  government.  But,  for  reasons  which 
are  obvious,  it  was  finally  determined  to  locate  the  seat  of 
episcopal  authority  in  the  old  Maryland  colony.  "  They 
fixed  upon  Baltimore,"  wrote  Dr.  Carroll,  "  this  being  the 
principal  town  of  Maryland,  and  that  State  being  the  oldest 
and  still  the  most  numerous  residence  of  true  religion  ini 
America." 

The  appointment  of  Bishop  Spalding  to  fill  the  see  of 
Baltimore,  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  Archbishop  Ken- 
rick,  met  with  the  almost  universal  approval  of  the  Catholics 
of  this  country.  Many  of  the  bishops  and  priests  expressed 
their  great  satisfaction  with  the  choice  made  by  the  Holy 
Father  in  terms  the  most  complimentary.  "  No  sooner  had 
Almighty  God,''  wrote  Archbishop  Odin,  "  called  to  himself 
the  great  and  good  Dr.  Kenrick,  than  all  eyes  were  turned 
towards  the  Bishop  of  Louisville  as  the  person  in  every 
way  qualified  to  fill  that  important  see."  Probably  no 
one  could  have  been  chosen  who  would  have  been  more 
acceptable  either  to  the  clergy  or  the  laity  of  the  Archdio- 
cese of  Baltimore.  His  record  as  Bishop  of  Louisville  gave 
assurance  of  his  administrative  ability  ;  whilst  the  honorable 
name  which  he  had  made  for  himself  by  his  writings  and 


26o  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

other  labors  in  the  cause  of  the  church,  inspired  the  confi- 
dent belief  that  he  would  be  a  not  unworthy  successor  of 
Carroll  and  Kenrick.  He  came  not  among  the  Catholics  of 
Maryland  as  a  stranger.  They  but  welcomed  home  a  not 
degenerate  son  of  the  Pilgrims  of  Lord  Baltimore. 

"  I  have  this  moment,"  wrote  Father  Coskery,  the  Admin- 
istrator of  the  diocese,  to  Archbishop  Spalding,  "  received  a 
letter  from  Cardinal  Barnabo,  announcing  the  fact  that  you 
have  been  appointed  our  archbishop.  Be  assured,  beloved 
Father  and  Archbishop,  that  no  other  appointment  could 
have  given  an  equal  amount  of  satisfaction  either  to  the 
clergy  or  the  people  of  your  new  charge.  We  have  all  long 
loved  you,  because  we  have  known  you  either  personally  or 
by  reputation.  In  receiving  you,  it  will  not  seem  to  us 
that  we  are  receiving  a  stranger,  but  a  long-known  and  ten- 
derly-loved father.  With  one  acclaim  of  joy,  Baltimore  will 
greet  you  her  seventh  archbishop." 

Bishop  O'Connor,  in  whose  death  the  American  Church 
has  lost  one  of  her  most  gifted  and  most  exemplary  sons, 
wrote  as  follows  to  Archbishop  Spalding  : 

"  There  were  rumors  of  your  declining  this  honor  in  case 
it  were  proffered.  I  cannot  believe  that  you  had  any  such 
intention,  though  the  bare  possibility  of  the  thing  will,  I 
trust,  excuse  my  alluding  to  it.  You  have  too  much  wis- 
dom not  to  see  that  in  such  affairs  the  safest  course  is  to 
leave  one's  self  in  the  hands  of  Providence.  You  know  too 
much,  I  am  sure,  of  what  such  honors  imply,  to  think  them 
worth  running  from  or  running  after;  and,  as  to  any  other 
difficulties  that  I  can  see,  they  should  certainly  )-ield  to  the 
voice  of  Providence,  which  will  be  manifested  in  the  ap- 
pointment. It  may  be  no  harm  for  an  outsider,  whose  tes- 
timony you  may  consider  in  such  an  affair  reliable,  to  give 
his  opinion,  as  I  do,  that  your  reception  by  the  people  of 
Baltimore  will  be  warm,  by  the  clergy  cordial,  and  that  in 


Takes  Possession  of  his  new  Charge.  261 

all  you  will  find  sincere  support.  As  a  disinterested  party, 
I  was  able  to  form  an  idea  on  this  subject,  and  my  expres- 
sion of  it  may  carry  conviction  better  than  that  of  others 
whose  feelings  may  be  considered  as  enlisted." 

Archbishop  Spalding  took  possession  of  his  new  see  on 
the  31st  of  July,  1864. 

"  I  consider  it  a  fortunate  circumstance,"  said  he,  in  his 
inaugural  address,  "  that  in  the  Providence  of  God  I  am 
enabled  to  begin  my  duties  in  the  Province  of  Baltimore  on 
this  day,  the  Festival  of  St,  Ignatius  Loyola,  the  patron  of 
the  missions  of  Maryland"  ;  and,  after  a  discourse,  of  great 
breadth  of  view,  on  St.  Ignatius,  and  the  significance  of  his 
work  in  the  church,  he  applied  the  lesson  thence  to  be  drawn 
to  himself  in  this  new  mission  which  the  Vicar  of  Christ 
had  entrusted  to  him.     The  weak  things  of  the  world  are 
chosen  of  God  to  confound  the  strong.     Though  the  instru- 
ment be  poor,  yet  in  the  hands  of  God  it  may  do  wonders. 
"  I  may  not  hope,"  he  continued,  "  to  fill  the  place  made 
vacant  by  the  departure  to  his  rest  of  the  venerated  Kenrick  ; 
but  it  must  be  my  aim,  with  the  help  of  God  and  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  and  encouraged  by  your  prayers,  brethren,  to  emu- 
late his  bright  example,  and  to  follow,  if  I  can,  in  his  foot- 
steps.    He  was  my  friend  ;  I  knew  him  well  ;  and  it  is  be- 
cause I  knew  him  so  well,  that  I  feel  how  difficult  it  will  be 
to  fill  in  your  hearts  the  place  which  he  occupied." 

There  were  many  traits  of  resemblance  in  the  characters 
of  Archbishop  Kenrick  and  Archbishop  Spalding,  though 
the  two  men  were  very  unlike.  Both  were  gentle  and  sim- 
ple, innocent  and  good  themselves,  and  unsuspicious  of  evil 
in  others. 

Archbishop  Kenrick  was  reserved.  He  gave  expression 
to  his  sentiments  in  a  quiet,  subdued  way,  as  though  the 
outer  world  were  not  his  home  ;  and  he  seemed  at  once, 
without  effort,  to  sink  back  into  the  sanctuary  of  his  inner  life. 


262  Life  of  A rc/i b isJiop  Spa Idiiig. 

Archbishop  Spalding,  on  the  contrary,  was  demon'-crative. 
There  was  a  merry  ring  in  his  laugh,  suggestive  of  the  un- 
deceived heart  of  childhood.  He  had  not  the  art  of  con- 
cealing anything — he  thought  aloud.  He  had,  too,  a  plain, 
blunt  way  of  telling  the  brutal  truth,  which  sometimes  gave 
offence,  and  which  often  astonished  those  who  knew  best 
his  perfect  gentleness  of  heart.  Both  were  remarkable  for 
the  thoroughness  with  which  their  whole  nature  had  been 
absorbed  and  remoulded  by  the  spirit  of  religion.  Having 
come  forth  from  the  same  school,  their  theological  opinions 
and  views  in  matters  not  strictly  of  faith  very  generally 
coincided. 

Both  of  them  had  found  the  rare  secret  of  uniting  a  life  of 
great  activity  and  of  manifold  external  duties  with  that  of 
the  conscientious  student,  and  were  thus  able,  whilst  labor- 
ing incessantly  to  build  up  the  church,  to  become  also  the 
guides  and  directors  of  Catholic  thought,  and  to  enrich  the 
literature  of  the  American  church  with  some  of  its  most  im- 
portant works.  Yet  Archbishop  Spalding  was  more  a  man 
of  action  than  Archbishop  Kenrick,  and  consequently  less 
really  a  student.  The  writings  of  the  one  were  more  popu- 
lar, breathed  more  the  spirit  of  the  busy,  moving  age  ;  those 
of  the  other  were  more  learned,  partook  more  of  the  fixed 
and  immobile  character  of  the  truth  which  they  were  in- 
tended to  defend  and  illustrate.  Archbishop  Spalding  pro- 
bably knew  more  of  men,  and  understood  better  how  to 
develop  and  put  to  proper  use  the  energies  of  those  whom 
he  governed,  whilst  Archbishop  Kenrick  was  the  profounder 
scholar.  Both  were  alike  distinguished  by  their  thoroughly 
Catholic  instincts,  which  seemed  almost  unerringly  to 
incline  them  in  thought  and  action  to  that  which  is  in  most 
perfect  accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  church  ;  and  hence  they 
both  cherished  a  tender  and  filial  devotion  to  the  Vicar  of 
Christ  as  to  the  visible  centre  and  fountain-head  of  Catholic 


Summary  of  Important  Facts.  263 

aanity  and  life.  Apart  from  the  importance  which  at  all 
times  belongs  to  the  see  of  Baltimore,  special  circumstances 
•existed  when  Archbishop  Spalding  was  called  to  fill  it  which 
•seemed  to  demand  more  than  ordinary  prudence  and  wisdom 
in  the  person  upon  whom  this  honor  was  conferred. 

The  Civil  war  was  still  raging,  and  no  one  could  foresee  its 
end  or  predict  what  the  final  result  would  be.  Maryland, 
like  Kentucky,  was  a  border  State,  which  had  already  been 
occupied  by  both  armies,  and  might  again  become  the  scene 
of  great  battles.  The  Catholics,  like  the  other  citizens  of 
that  State,  were  divided  in  their  political  opinions  and 
■sympathies. 

The  death  of  Archbishop  Kenrick  had  been  hastened,  as 
some  thought,  by  the  frightful  calamities  which  he  saw 
around  him,  and  by  the  fear  lest  still  greater  evils  should 
•come  upon  his  people. 

The  District  of  Columbia,  too,  formed  part  of  the  Arch- 
diocese of  Baltimore  ;  and,  should  any  misunderstanding 
arise  between  the  church  and  the  Government  in  conse- 
•quence  of  the  troubled  and  uncertain  condition  of  affairs,  it 
would  naturally  fall  to  the  Archbishop  to  represent  the  eccle- 
siastical authority. 

The  manner  in  which  Bishop  Spalding  had  met  the  diffi- 
culties of  his  position,  as  Bishop  of  Louisville,  was  well 
known  to  the  Court  of  Rome  ;  and  his  appointment  to  the 
see  of  Baltimore,  in  view  of  this  fact,  cannot  but  be  con- 
sidered as  a  most  valuable  endorsement  of  the  wisdom  and 
prudence  of  his  conduct.  In  other  respects,  the  administra- 
tion of  the  diocese  of  Baltimore  presented  but  little  diffi- 
culty compared  with  that  which  existed  in  newer  and  less 
perfectly  organized  portions  of  the  church. 

A  brief  statement  of  what  had  already  been  done  will 
serve  to  throw  light  upon  the  task  which  Archbishop  Spal- 
ding had  to  perform. 


264  Lif^  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

The  history  of  the  Catholic  Church  within  the  present 
territory  of  the  United  States  reaches  back  to  a  time  when 
Protestantism  had  not  yet  come  into  existence.  The  story 
of  the  heroic  and  saintly  lives  of  the  Catholic  missionaries 
who  bore  the  light  of  faith  to  the  Indians  of  North  America 
from  1 5 12,  when  Florida  was  discovered,  down  to  1776,  when 
we  became  an  independent  people,  and  even  to  a  more  re- 
cent date,  is  fit  to  be  written  on  the  brightest  pages  of  the 
church's  annals.  In  California,  in  Texas,  in  Florida,  in  the 
countries  that  lie  around  the  great  lakes  of  the  Northwest^ 
in  New  York,  in  Maine,  those  apostolic  men  labored  with  a 
zeal,  an  earnestness,  often  with  a  success,  that  recall  the  first 
ages  of  the  church. 

But  with  the  extinction  of  the  aboriginal  tribes,  the  results 
of  their  work,  for  the  most  part,  disappeared  ;  and  their 
sufferings  and  their  deeds  may  be  hardly  said  to  form  part 
of  the  history  of  the  present  church  of  the  United  States. 
From  the  landing  of  Lord  Baltimore,  in  1634,  to  the  end  of 
the  war  of  Independence,  the  church  scarcely  had  a  recog- 
nized existence  in  the  British  Colonies,  and  made  little  pro- 
gress. 

Outside  of  Maryland  there  were  no  Catholics,  if  we 
except  a  few  who  were  scattered  through  Pennsylvania, 
where  they  received  a  kind  of  toleration  of  contempt.  But 
with  liberty  of  conscience  came  the  signs  of  awakening 
life. 

Dr.  Carroll,  in  1788,  the  year  before  his  consecration  as 
Bishop  of  Baltimore,  laid  the  foundation  of  Georgetown- 
College,  which  was  opened  in  1791,  when  Washington  City 
had  not  yet  been  laid  out.  In  the  same  year  (1791),  M, 
Nagot  founded  the  Theological  Seminary  in  Baltimore. 
Down  to  1790,  there  was  not  a  community  of  religious 
women  in  the  United  States.  In  that  year.  Father  Charles 
Neale,  the  brother  of  the  future  Archbishop,  brought  over 


Summary  of  Important  Facts.  265 

« 

from  Antwerp  four  Carmelite  nuns,  three  of  whom  were 
Americans,  the  fourth  being  an  English  lady.  A  house  was 
purchased  for  them  near  Port  Tobacco,  on  the  Potomac, 
where  they  established  the  first  convent  of  women  in  this 
country.* 

In  1792,  a  few  members  of  the  order  of  Poor  Clares,  who- 
had  been  driven  from  France  by  the  Revolution,  settled  in 
Georgetown  ;  but  they  sold  their  convent  to  Bishop  Neale 
in  1805,  and  returned  to  their  native  land.  In  the  house 
which  he  had  bought  from  the  Poor  Clares  Bishop- Neale 
placed  the  "  Pious  Ladies,"  as  they  were  called,  who,  with- 
out taking  special  vows  or  wearing  a  distinctive  habit,  led 
the  lives  of  religious,  until  they  finally  adopted  the  rule  of 
the  order  of  the  Visitation.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
Georgetown  Convent,  which  has  since  rendered  such  great 
services  to  religion.  In  May,  1805,  Bishop  Carroll,  having 
previously  obtained  permission  from  the  General  of  the 
order,  reorganized  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  the  United 
States.  Six  fathers,  who  had  been  members  of  the  society 
before  its  suppression,  were  readmitted,  and  others  soon 
arrived  from  Europe.  They  at  once  took  cliarge  of  the 
college  at  Georgetown,  which,  under  their  management, 
soon  rose  to  a  high  rank  among  the  institutions  of  learning 
in  the  United  States. 

In  1808,  the  Rev.  John  Dubois,  afterwards  Bishop  of 
New  York,  opened  a  college  near  Emmitsburg,  Maryland, 
to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Mount  St.  Mary's.  The 
year  following.  Mother  Seton  founded  the  first  house  of  the 
Sisters  of  Charity  in  this  country,  at  a  short  distance  from 
Father  Dubois'  seminary. 

The  influence  of  these  institutions,  though  by  no  means 

•  An  Ursuline  Convent  was  founded  in  1727  in  New  Orleans,  which  at 
that  time  belonged  to  France. 


266  Life  of  ArcJibisJiop  Spalding. 

confined  to  Maryland,  has  been  more  especially  felt  in  the 
Archdiocese  of  Baltimore. 

The  Sulpicians  opened  a  college  in  Baltimore  in  1799, 
which  prospered  for  many  years,  but  was  finally  closed  in 
1850.  Its  place  was  supplied  by  Loyola  College,  estab- 
lished by  the  Jesuits  in  1852. 

The  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools  came  to  Baltimore 
in  1846,  at  the  invitation  of  Archbishop  Eccleston,  and 
opened  a  novitiate  and  school  in  Calvert  Hall,  which  had 
been  ceded  to  them  for  this  purpose  by  the  trustees  of  the 
cathedral.  In  the  same  year,  the  Brothers  of  St.  Patrick 
arrived,  and  took  charge  of  the  male  department  of  the 
school  attached  to  St.  Patrick's  Church.  Archbishop  Eccles- 
ton succeeded  also  in  securing  the  services  of  the  Redemp- 
torists  and  Lazarists.  The  former  devoted  themselves  more 
particularly  to  the  German  Catholic  population  of  Balti- 
mo-re,  which  was  fast  becoming  an  important  element  of 
the  church's  strength  in  that  city.  The  zeal  which  they 
manifested  in  the  cause  of  Catholic  education  was  espe- 
cially commendable.  Another  event  connected  with  Arch- 
bishop Eccleston's  administration  was  the  founding  of  St. 
Charles'  College,  near  Ellicott's  Mills.  This  institution,  for 
which  the  church  is  indebted  to  the  munificence  of  Charles 
Carroll,  is  a  preparatory  seminary,  in  which  boys  who  give 
evidence  of  a  vocation  to  the  priesthood  are  fitted  for  the 
study  of  theology.  The  college  was  opened  in  1848,  and 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Fathers  of  St.  Sulpice.  Benevo- 
lent institutions  for  the  relief  of  the  various  forms  of  human 
sufTering;  had  been  called  into  existence  from  time  to  time 
by  the  six  venerable  men  who  had  successively  occupied  the 
archiepiscopal  chair  of  Baltimore.  The  number  of  churches 
and  of  priests  was  large,  though  insufficient  for  the  rapidly 
growing  Catholic  population.  The  cathedral,  the  corner- 
stone of  which  was  laid  by  Archbishop  Carroll  in   1 806,  was 


Summary  of  I?npoi'ia7it  Facts.  267 

solemnly  dedicated  in  1821.  Although  in  the  rapid  progress 
of  the  age  it  has  long  since  ceased  to  hold  the  first  rank 
among  our  churches  in  architectural  beauty,  yet  there  is 
none  which  can  compare  with  it  in  the  number  and  sacred- 
ness  of  its  historical  associations,  which  belong  to  the  entire 
American  church,  and  which  of  themselves  will  be  sufficient 
to  preserve  it  from  desecration  should  the  erection  of  a 
new  cathedral  become  necessary. 

Archbishop  Spalding  seems  to  have  won  the  confidence 
and  even  the  affection  of  the  Catholics  of  Maryland,  from 
his  first  appearance  among  them.  Any  regrets  he  may  have 
felt  in  leaving  Kentucky  he  kept  to  himself,  as  not  concern- 
ing others,  and  he  now  had  no  thought  but  to  identify  him- 
self with  the  people  among  whom  God's  Providence  had 
placed  him. 

It  did  not  take  any  one  long  to  get  acquainted  with  Arch- 
bishop Spalding.  His  character  was  perfectly  transparent. 
His  thoughts  and  aims  were  above  reproach,  and  he  spoke 
them  out  with  entire  frankness.  He  was  neither  non-com- 
mittal nor  self-absorbed.  In  his  new  position,  he  did  not  in 
the  least  change  his  mode  of  life,  but  remained  as  simple  and 
unpretending  as  the  poorest  priest  in  his  diocese.  If  people 
found  fault  with  him,  it  was  because  he  was,  they  thought, 
too  plain,  and  did  not  attach  sufficient  importance  to  cere- 
mony— the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  office. 

He  was  always  ready  to  see  any  one  who  called  upon  him  ; 
prepared  to  give  advice,  to  speak  words  of  consolation,  to 
talk  of  business  ;  or,  if  the  occasion  required  it,  to  chat 
pleasantly  about  the  most  indifferent  things.  He  himself 
took  the  first  opportunity  to  visit  his  priests  and  his  people, 
and  in  a  very  short  time  he  was  quite  at  home  in  Balti- 
more. He  made  but  few  changes  in  the  beginning,  desiring 
first  to  become  familiar  with  the  customs  and  usages  of 
the  diocese,  as  well  as  with  the  sentiments  and  views  of  his 


268  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

priests,  which  he  wished,  as  far  as  possible,  to  respect.  He 
began  by  directing  his  attention  to  the  poor  and  the  chil- 
dren of  his  charge. 

He  made  appeals  in  behalf  of  the  various  orphan  asylums, 
and  established  in  Baltimore  the  Conferences  of  St,  Vincent 
de  Paul,  whose  special  mission  is  to  provide  for  the  spiritual 
and  temporal  wants  of  the  poor.  He  visited  the  various 
schools,  and  sought  to  awaken  a  more  lively  interest  in  the 
cause  of  Catholic  education. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

ARCHBISHOP  SPALDING'S  FIRST  WORKS  IN  THE  DIOCESE 
OF  BALTIMORE — THE  SYLLABUS — THE  SIXTH  SYNOD  OF 
BALTIMORE — CORRESPONDENCE    ON   VARIOUS    SUBJECTS. 

|NE  of  the  first  events  which  marked  Archbishop 
Spalding's  administration  was  the  founding  of 
a  convent  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  in  Baltimore, 
by  sisters  from  the  mother-house  in  Louisville, 
a  site  having  been  given  for  the  purpose  by  Mrs.  Emily 
McTavish. 

When  he  had  got  rid  of  the  press  of  more  urgent  business, 
he  entered  upon  the  visitation  of  his  diocese,  during  which 
he  administered  confirmation  in  one  hundred  and  twelve 
places  to  about  eight  thousand  persons,  eight  hundred  and 
fifty  of  whom  were  converts. 

In  connection  with  this  visitation,  and  also  to  urge  the 
faithful  to  gain  the  indulgence  of  the  fifth  Jubilee  pro- 
claimed by  Pius  IX.,  missions  were  preached  to  the  prin- 
cipal congregations  of  the  diocese.  In  the  cathedral,  over 
six  thousand  persons  approached  the  sacraments.  During 
the  first  year  of  his  administration,  he  finished  and  decorated 
the  cathedral,  which  he  had  found  incomplete.  A  gift  of 
fifteen  thousand  dollars  from  one  of  the  most  generous 
Catholic  gentlemen  of  Baltimore  enabled  him  to  enlarge  the 
archiepiscopal  residence.  This  was  very  agreeable  to  him, 
as  he  desired  to  be  able  to  offer  hospitality  to  his  priests 
when  they  visited  the  city.  This  had  been  his  custom  in 
Louisville,  and  he  desired  to  keep  up  the  Scriptural  injunc- 
tion in  Baltimore. 


270  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

Besides  being  proper  in  itself,  it  encouraged,  he  thought^ 
mutual  confidence  and  cordiality.  It  gave  him  real  plea- 
sure, too,  to  entertain  his  priests,  and  he  was  never  better 
pleased  than  when  surrounded  by  them.  His  soul  was  in 
the  work  which  they  were  doing,  and  their  presence  gave 
him  an  opportunity  of  talking  of  that  of  which  his  heart 
was  full.  His  government  was  wholly  free  from  anything 
like  espionage.  He  would  have  been  as  unfit  for  this  as  he 
was  incapable  of  it. 

When  a  charge  worthy  of  notice  was  made  against  a. 
priest.  Archbishop  Spalding  never  failed  to  make  it  known 
to  him;  not  that  he  believed  him  guilty,  but  that  he  might 
give  him  an  opportunity  of  freeing  himself  from  unjust  sus- 
picion. When  the  proof  of  guilt  was  too  strong  to  admit 
of  doubt,  he  was  firm  in  the  course  which,  after  a  thorough 
investigation  of  the  case,  he  thought  proper  to  pursue — above 
all,  when  there  was  danger  to  souls.  Saliis  populi  siiprenia 
lex  was  a  rule  of  conduct  from  which  he  never  knowingly 
swerved.  Charity  must  be  shown  to  the  lambs  of  the  flock,, 
he  used  to  say,  not  to  the  wolves.  He  felt  that  he  could 
show  his  priests  no  greater  kindness  than  by  doing  all  that 
lay  in  his  power  to  preserve  the  dignity  and  purity  of  the 
clerical  body  free  from  attaint. 

"  I  did  not,"  he  wrote  to  a  clergyman,  "  attach  any  impor- 
tance to  the  charges  made  against  you,  of  whom,  from  all 
that  I  knew,  I  had  a  good  opinion.  Still,  I  thought  it  due 
to  yourself  that  you  should  be  informed  of  them.  Your 
explanation  is  satisfactory,  and  I  bid  you  God-speed  in  your 
labors,  which  you  should  continue  for  the  glory  of  God." 

The  knowledge  of  the  various  parishes  and  missions  of  the 
diocese,  which  Archbishop  Spalding  had  gained  through  the 
visitation,  convinced  him  that  the  interests  of  religion  de- 
manded that  a  greater  number  of  priests  should  be  employed 
in  the  work  of  the  ministry. 


First  Works  in  the  Diocese  of  Baltiinore.      271 

He   therefor®-  sought  to  make  arrangements  to  get  mis- 
sionaries from  All-Hallows,  near  Dublin  ;  and,  with  the  same 
view,  he  became,  as  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  a  patron  of  the 
American  College  at  Louvain,  by  paying  a  thousand  dollars. 

From  these  sources,  as  well  as  from  his  own  seminary,  he 
was  soon  able  to  get  priests  for  the  more  pressing  demands 
of  his  diocese.  During  his  first  visitation,  he  took  measures 
to  have  not  less  than  twenty  new  churches  built,  nearly  all 
of  which  were  to  be  ready  for  service  within  a  year.  He 
preached  in  all  the  churches  which  he  visited,  and  frequently 
lectured.  He  was  not  content  with  hurrying  through  the 
diocese  merely  to  give  confirmation,  but  sought  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  people,  that  he  might  be  able  to  form 
a  better  judgment  concerning  their  spiritual  wants.  He 
listened  with  interest  to  anything  they  might  propose,  and 
showed  himself  anxious  to  co-operate  with  them  in  what- 
ever regarded  the  good  of  their  souls. 

His  judgment  in  practical  affairs  was  excellent.  Though 
he  cared  as  little  for  money  as  any  man,  yet  no  one  knew  its^ 
value  better  than  he.  He  had  the  faculty  of  perceiving 
almost  at  once  what  were  the  resources  of  a  congregation,. 
and  he  consequently  understood  what  enterprises  were  to  be 
pushed  forward,  and  what  were  to  be  discouraged. 

It  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world,  he  used  to  say,  ini 
reference  to  church  enterprises,  to  contract  debts,  and  the 
hardest  to  pay  them. 

He  was  also  opposed  to  accepting  pious  donations  clogged 
with  conditions,  which,  he  said,  often  defeat  the  end  of  the 
donors,  and  render  the  gift  valueless. 

Though  prudent,  he  was  never  timid  in  undertaking  what 
his  mature  judgment  led  him  to  believe  serviceable  to  the 
cause  of  religion. 

Like  all  men  who  work,  he  had  great  faith  in  the  power  of 
effort,  and  was  not,  therefore,  easily  frightened  by  difficulties. 


2/2  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

In  November,  1864,  Archbishop  Spalding  preached  at 
the  dedication  of  the  magnificent  cathedral  of  Philadelphia, 
which  had  been  begun  by  Bishop  Kenrick,  continued  by- 
Bishop  Neuman,  and  finally  completed  by  Bishop  Wood. 
Whenever  he  could  find  respite  from  his  arduous  labors,  he 
was  still  willing  to  lecture  for  objects  of  benevolence. 

February  9,    1865,   he   wrote:    "I  have  just  finished  my 
Pastoral  on  the  Jubilee.     I  attempt  to  defend  the  Pontiff 
and  the  Encyclical  from  the  American  stand-point.    In  view 
of  the  howl  of  indignation  which  has  gone  forth  from  Eng- 
land and  America,  I  thought  a  vindication  opportune." 

The  Pastoral  to  which  Archbishop  Spalding  refers  in  the 
words  just  quoted  attracted  considerable  attention  from 
both  the  religious  and  the  secular  press  of  the  country. 
The  first  edition,  in  pamphlet  form,  was  almost  imme- 
diately taken  up. 

"  Always  learned  and  eloquent,"  wrote  a  leading  Catholic 
editor,  "  Archbishop  Spalding  seems  to  us  never  so  impres- 
sive in  other  writings  as  in  his  Pastorals.  It  is  there  we 
find  the  fervor  and  power  of  the  ancient  doctors  and  fathers 
of  the  church,  united  with  a  keen  appreciation  of  the  needs 
of  these  last  days." 

The  outcry  was  that  the  Pope  had  condemned  all  the 
most  sacred  principles  of  our  Government.  To  this 
Archbishop  Spalding  replied  that  "to  stretch  the  words 
of  the  Pontifif,  evidently  intended  for  the  stand-point  of 
European  radicals  and  infidels,  so  as  to  make  them  include 
the  state  of  things  established  in  this  country  by  our  Con- 
stitution in  regard  to  liberty  of  conscience,  of  worship,  and 
of  the  press,  were  manifestly  unfair  and  unjust.  Divided 
as  we  were  in  religious  sentiment  from  the  very  origin  of 
our  Government,  our  fathers  acted  most  prudently  and 
wisely  in  adopting,  as  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution, 
the     organic    article    that    '  Congress    shall    make    no    law 


The  Syllabus.  273 

respecting  the  establishment  of  religion  or  prohibiting  the 
free  exercise  thereof.'  In  adopting  this  amendment,  they 
certainly  did  not  intend,  like  the  European  radical  disciples 
of  Tom  Paine  and  the  French  Revolution,  to  pronounce  all 
religions,  whether  true  or  false,  equal  before  God,  but  only  to 
declare  them  equal  before  the  law  ;  or  rather,  simply  to  lay 
•down  the  sound  and  equitable  principle  that  the  civil  govern- 
ment, adhering  strictly  to  its  own  appropriate  sphere  of  polit- 
ical duty,  pledged  itself  not  to  interfere  with  religious  matters, 
which  it  rightly  viewed  as  entirely  without  the  bounds  of 
its  competency.  The  founders  of  our  Government  were, 
thank  God  !  neither  latitudinarians  nor  infidels  ;  they  were 
-earnest,  honest  men  ;  and,  however  much  seme  of  them 
may  have  been  personally  lukewarm  in  the  matter  of  reli- 
gion, or  may  have  differed  in  religious  opinions,  they  still 
professed  to  believe  in  Christ  and  his  revelation  ;  and  they 
exhibited  a  commendable  respect  for  religious  observances.* 

•  "In  recent  times,"  these  are  the  words  of  one  of  the  most  thoughtful 
writers  of  this  century,  "  European  democracy  has  signalized  itself  lament- 
ably by  its  attacks  upon  religion — a  circumstance  which,  far  from  favoring 
its  cause,  has  very  seriously  injured  it.  We  can,  indeed,  form  an  idea  of  a 
government  more  or  less  free  when  society  is  virtuous,  moral,  and  religious; 
but  not  when  these  conditions  are  wanting.  In  the  latter  case,  the  only 
form  of  government  that  is  possible  is  despotism,  the  rule  of  force  ;  for  force 
alone  can  govern  men  who  are  without  conscience  and  without  God.  If  we 
consider  attentively  the  points  of  difference  between  the  Revolution  of  the 
United  States  and  that  of  France,  we  shall  find  one  of  the  principal  to  be 
this — that  the  American  Revolution  was  essentially  democratic;  that  of 
France  essentially  impious.  In  the  manifestoes  bv  which  the  former 
was  inaugurated,  the  name  of  God,  of  Providence,  is  everywhere  seen  ; 
the  men  engaged  in  the  perilous  enterprise  of  shaking  off  the  yoke 
of  Great  Britain,  far  from  blaspheming  the  Almighty,  invoke  his  assist- 
ance, convinced  that  the  cause  of  independence  was  the  cause  of  rea- 
son and  justice.  The  French  began  by  deifying  the  leaders  of  irreligion, 
overthrowing  altars,  watering  with  the  blood  of  priests  the  temples,  the 
streets,  and  the  scaffolds.  The  only  emblem  of  revolution  recognized  by 
4he  people  is  atheism  hand  in  hand  with  liberty.     This  folly  has  borne  its 


2  74  -^if*^  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

All  other  matters  contained  in  the  Encyclical,  as  well  as  the 
long  catalogue  of  eighty  propositions  condemned  in  its- 
Appendix  or  Syllabus,  are  to  be  judged  of  by  the  same 
standard.  These  propositions  are  condemned  in  the  sense 
of  those  who  uttered  and  maintained  them,  and  in  no  other. 
To  be  fair  in  our  interpretation,  we  must  never  lose  sight  of  the 
lofty  stand-point  of  the  Pontiff,  who  steps  forth  as  the  cham- 
pion of  law  and  order  against  anarchy  and  revolution,  and  of 
revealed  religion  against  more  or  less  openly  avowed  infi- 
delity. Nor  should  we  forget  the  stand-point  of  those  whose 
errors  he  condemns,  who  openly  or  covertly  assail  all 
revealed  religion,  and  seek  to  sap  the  very  foundations  of 
all  well-ordered  society ;  who  threaten  to  bring  back  the 
untold  horrors  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  to  make  the 
streets  and  the  highways  run  with  the  blood  of  the  best  and 
noblest  citizens.  Their  covert  attacks  on  religion  and 
society  are,  perhaps,  even  more  formidable  than  their  open 
assaults.  Against  the  latter  the  virtuous  are  really  guarded 
and  armed  ;  against  the  former,  which  often  bear  the  ap- 
pearance of  good,  and  whose  evil  drift  is  not  so  easily  per- 
ceived, we  are  not  so  well  prepared,  and  the  poison  of  error 
is  often  insidiously  instilled  into  the  hearts  of  the  well 
disposed  but  simple-minded  before  they  even  think  of 
guarding  against  the  danger." 

I  have  found  the  following  reference  to  the  doctrines  of 
the  Syllabus  in  one  of  Archbishop  Spalding's  letters  : 

"  Whilst  I  adhere  ex  corde  to  the  principles  enunciated  in 
the  Syllabus,  I  yet  look  upon  them  in  concrete  et  in  subjecta 
materia  ;  not  generalizing  what  is  special,  and  not  stretching 

fruits;  it  communicated  its  fatal  contagion  to  other  revolutions  in  recent 
times  ;  the  new  order  of  things  has  been  inaugurated  with  sacrilegious 
crimes  ;  and  the  proclamation  of  the  rights  of  man  began  by  the  profana- 
tion of  the  temples  of  Him  from  whom  all  rights  emanate." — Balmes" 
ProUstantistn  and  Catholicity,  p.  389. 


The  Sixth   Synod  of  Baltimore.  275" 

the  meaning  of  the  propositions  beyond  that  inferable  from 
the  circumstances  to  which  they  were  applied.     Freedom  of 
worship  is  condemned  when  it  implies  a  right  not  given  by 
Christ,  and  insists  on  the  right  of  introducing  false  religion 
into  a  country  where  it  does  not  exist.     It  is  not  only  not 
censurable,  but  commendable,  and  the  only  thing  practicable 
in  countries  like  ours.     I  reason  in  a  similar  manner  concern- 
ing the  liberty  of  the  press,  and  progress,  in  the  American 
and  Anglo-Saxon,  not  in  the  liberal  European,  sense.     There 
is  a  wide  distinction,  and  any  attempt  to  confound  things 
so  far  apart  would  be  wrong  and  nugatory,  putting  us  in  a 
false  position — in  an   untenable  one,  in  fact.     I  should  say 
the  same  with  regard  to  church  and  state.     The  principle  is; 
right  enough  ;  but  its  application  must  vary  with  the  ever- 
changing  conditions  of  human  society." 

At  the  close  of  the  retreat,  which  he  himself  preached  to* 
his  priests  in  May,  1865,  Archbishop  Spalding  held  a  dio- 
cesan  synod — the   sixth    of   Baltimore.     In   this  synod,  he; 
urged  the  pastors  to  use  greater  efforts  to  foster  vocation^' 
to    the   priesthood.     It   was   his  desire  that   each   of   them 
should  select  two  boys  among  the  children  of  his  parish  to 
be  sent  to  the  preparatory  seminary  of  St.  Charles.     "  We 
trust,"  he  said,  in  the  Pastoral  which  he  published  on  this 
occasion,  "  that  faith  will  be  awakened  and  stimulated  to  more 
active  exertions,  and  that  Catholic  parents  will  deem  it  the 
greatest  possible  honor  and  happiness  for  their  families  to 
have  one  or  more  of  their  sons  become  priests  of  God.     It 
was  so  in   the   early  Catholic  historx'    of  Maryland.     Why 
should  it  not  be  so  now -^     Has  the  spirit  of  the  Neales  andt 
the    Fenwicks   become   extinct   in  the  bosoms   of  their  de- 
scendants?    Should  not  the  uncertaint}-  and  \'icissitudcs  of 
the  times  tend  to  convince  all  reflecting  minds  blessed  with 
Catholic  faith  of  the  utter  instabilit\-  of  human  affairs,  and 
of  the  wisdom  of  choosing  the  better  part  ?     Or  is  it  better 


276  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

for  the  Christian  father  and  mother  to  train  up  their  sons  to 
become  the  votaries  and  servants  of  an  uncertain  and  treach- 
erous world  than  to  rear  them  up  with  a  taste  and  desire 
for  the  subHme  ministry  of  God's  altar?  At  the  hour  of 
death,  will  the  wealthy  Catholic  parent  be  more  comforted 
by  the  reflection  that  he  leaves  his  son  heir  to  his  riches — 
perhaps  ungratefully  to  squander  them — or  by  the  thought 
that  he  leaves  one  behind  him  who  will  often  do  what  St. 
Monica  on  her  death-bed  begged  her  dear  son,  St.  Augus- 
tine, to  do — to  remember  her  at  the  holy  altar?" 

A  decree  was  passed  in  this  synod,  requiring  that  children 
who  have  not  made  their  first  communion  shall  be  heard  in 
confession  four  times  a  year  during  the  Quatuor  Teinpora. 
To  encourage  greater  devotion  to  the  saints,  Archbishop 
Spalding  recommended  that  the  festival  of  the  patronal  or 
titular  saint  of  each  church  should  be  celebrated  with  due 
solemnity. 

"Whom  God  has  so  honored,"  he  says,  in  his  synodical 
address,  "  surely  we  may  honor  ;  whom  he  has  crowned  in 
heaven,  we  may  surely  invoke  on  earth.  While  the  holy 
example  of  the  saints  is  a  powerful  stimulant  to  our  own 
feeble  efforts,  the  brilliancy  of  their  crowns  in  heaven  fills  us 
with  admiration,  and  inspires  us  with  emulation  ;  and  their 
prayers,  poured  out  to  God  near  his  throne  in  our  behalf, 
will  greatly  aid  us  in  passing  through  the  perils  of  this 
earthly  pilgrimage,  and  in  reaching  at  length  the  blessed 
home  which  they  have  already  entered,  and  where  they  are 
now  happy  with  bliss  unutterable.  The  devout  observance 
of  their  festivals  will  tend  to  keep  alive  in  our  hearts  these 
salutary  feelings,  while  it  will,  moreover,  cause  us  to  approxi- 
mate to  the  general  usage  of  the  church  in  Catholic  coun- 
tries." 

The  number  of  days  on  which  the  benediction  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  was  permitted  to  be  given  in  the  diocese 


The  Sixth  Synod  of  Baltimore.  277 

was  increased,  that  greater  opportunity  of  cultivating  devo- 
tion to  our  divine  Saviour,  in  the  chief  mystery  of  his  love, 
might  be  offered  to  the  faithful. 

Catholics  were  urged  to  become  members  of  the  Associa- 
tion for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,  and  of  the  kindred 
one,  the  Society  of  the  Holy  Childhood.  "  Both  these 
associations,"  said  the  Archbishop,  "  will  commend  them- 
selves to  every  Catholic  heart  ;  ajid  while  millions  are  annu- 
ally contributed  by  Protestants  in  the  zealous  but  wholly 
ineffectual  attempt  to  convert  the  heathen,  surely  Catholics, 
whose  missionaries  do  succeed,  to  a  marvellous  extent,  in 
this  blessed  work,  will  not  remain  behind  in  their  zeal  for 
the  salvation  of  souls  and  the  consequent  generosity  of 
their  contributions." 

A  statute  of  this  synod  required  pastors  to  explain  to  the 
people  from  the  pulpit,  at  least  once  a  year,  the  nature  and 
wisdom  of  the  ecclesiastical  laws  relative  to  marriage.  In 
his  address,  the  Archbishop  referred  to  the  subject  of  the 
intermarriage  of  Catholics  and  Protestants.  "  Mixed  mar- 
riages," he  said,  "  are  commonly  attended  with  many  incon- 
veniences and  difficulties  ;  sometimes  with  the  very  worst 
results  to  the  piety  and  faith  of  the  Catholic  party.  The 
children  of  such  alliances  are  very  frequently  reared  up  with- 
out suitable  religious  instruction,  and  they  often  become 
indifferentists  or  practical  infidels.  It  is  usually  difficult 
enough,  particularly  in  this  country,  for  parents,  when  both 
are  Catholics,  to  guard  their  children  against  the  influence 
of  the  pernicious  examples  by  which  they  are  surrounded, 
and  to  bring  them  up  as  practical  and  devout  members  of 
the  church.  The  difficulty  is  increased  tenfold  when  one 
of  the  parents  is  not  blessed  with  Catholic  faith,  and  is 
either  an  indifferentist  or  an  crrorist  in  religion.  The  exam- 
ple of  such  a  parent  will  go  very  far  towards  counteracting 
all  the  efforts  and  instructions  of  the  one  who  is  Catholic. 


27B  Life  of  Archbishop  Spaldijig. 

We  repeat  it,  the  church  is  very  wise  in  warning  her  chi.' 
dren  against  the  danger  of  such  marriages  ;  and  it  is  tli' 
duty  of  CathoHc  parents  to  guard  their  children  against, 
associations  which  might  entangle  them  in  alliances  so 
fraught  with  evil  to  their  souls,  as  it  is  the  duty  of  pastors 
to  remind  parents  and  children  of  their  obligations  in  this 
.matter."  In  conformity  with  the  rubrics  and  the  general 
-usage  of  the  church,  the  statutes  of  this  synod  require  that 
in  future  all  candidates  for  confirmation  shall  be  provided 
with  sponsors,  who  must  be  of  the  same  sex  as  those  whom 
they  present  for  the  reception  of  the  sacrament. 

The  duty  of  generously  contributing  to  the  support  of  the 
Holy  Father  is  also  insisted  upon.  "  He  labors  day  and 
night,  with  his  numerous  staff  of  counsellors  and  officers, 
for  the  spiritual  benefit  of  all  Christendom  ;  and  it  is  but 
fair  and  equitable  that  all  Christendom  should  generously 
■  co-operate  in  supporting  a  necessarily  expensive  admiris- 
.tration,  conducted  in  the  spiritual  interests  of  all." 

"  Finally,"  continues  Archbishop  Spalding,  in  the  address 
from  which  I  have  already  quoted,  "  in  view  of  the  great 
number  of  our  children  of  both  sexes  who  are  lost  to  the 
•church,  we  have  recommended,  for  general  adoption  in  our 
congregations,  societies  of  pious  ladies,  like  that  lately 
established  in  the  cathedral  parish  under  the  name  of  the 
'■  Association  of  St.  Joseph.'  This  society  has  for  its  object 
ihe  care  of  destitute  girls  whose  faith  is  endangered  because 
their  religious  instruction  has  been  neglected.  These  zeal- 
ous ladies  seek  out  these  poor  children,  assemble  them 
weekly,  and  devote  several  hours  to  teaching  them  sewing 
and  the  catechism.  Within  a  few  weeks,  the  number  of 
such  scholars  in  the  cathedral  parish  has  swelled  from 
twenty  to  one  hundred." 

Archbishop  Spalding's  fondness  for  historical  studies,  and 
his  great  desire  to  disseminate  correct  views  on  the  history 


The   SixtJi   Synod  of  Baltimore.  279 

of  the  church,  led  him,  a  short  time  after  his  promotion  to 
the  see  of  Baltimore,  to  become  responsible  for  the  English 
translation  of  Darras'  Cliiirch  History,  for  which  he  wrote  a 
lengthy  introduction.  This  work  gave  him  not  a  little 
trouble.  For  a  time  he  did  the  proof-reading  himself;  but 
he  soon  found  that  this  was  incompatible  with  the  discharge 
of  the  constantly  increasing  duties  of  his  office.  Then,  when 
only  a  few  chapters  of  the  first  volume  had  been  done  into 
English,  the  person  who  had  undertaken  the  translation 
was  unable  to  proceed  with  the  work,  and  Archbishop  Spal- 
ding was  forced  to  look  out  for  some  equally  competent 
person  to  whom  he  might  entrust  the  task.  Fortunately,  a 
member  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  of  the  Maryland  Province, 
was  found,  who  was  both  able  and  willing  to  complete  the 
translation. 

Bishop  Luers,  of  Fort  Wayne,  suggested  that  a  chapter 
on  the  history  of  the  church  in  the  United  States  should  be 
added.  This  chapter,  m  the  form  of  an  appendix  to  the 
fourth  volume,  was  written  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  White,  of 
Washington  City.  The  entire  work,  which  is  a  valuable 
addition  to  our  Catholic  literature,  was  completed  in  1866. 

Archbishop  Spalding  had  for  years  carried  on  an  extensive 
correspondence,  which  now  greatly  increased  and  became 
really  burdensome.  He  frequently  wrote,  with  his  own 
hand,  as  many  as  twenty  letters  a  day,  some  of  them  of 
considerable  length,  and  on  almost  every  conceivable  topic. 

Bishops  consulted  him  on  points  of  theology  or  canon 
law,  or  as  to  the  manner  of  meeting  some  practical  difficul- 
ties ;  priests  asked  his  advice  on  a  still  greater  variety  of 
subjects  ;  others,  who  wished  to  refer  their  doubts  to  Rome, 
first  sought  his  opinion.  He  received  letters  from^members 
of  religious  orders  and  communities  requiring  answers  to  all 
manner  of  questions  relating  to  monastic  life  and  discipline. 
Unfledged  authors  sent  him  their  manuscripts  to  read,  and 


28o  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

translators  sought  his  approval  of  their  work.  Whoever  had 
a  project  which  he  thought  of  vital  interest  to  the  church  in 
this  country  submitted  it  to  him.  People  who  had  got  into 
quarrels  and  difficulties  stated  their  cases  to  him.  Some 
asked  for  letters  of  introduction,  whilst  others  wished  to  know 
whether  or  not  he  would  advise  them  to  make  a  change  of 
business.  Mothers  begged  him  to  intercede  for  their  sons- 
who  were  in  prison,  wives  for  their  husbands.  Persons  who- 
had  been  impoverished  by  the  war  asked  for  assistance. 
Children  wrote  to  remind  him  of  his  promise  to  send  his 
photograph.  Protestants  made  endless  statements  of  their 
objections  to  the  church,  and  asked  to  be  enlightened. 
Others  sent  him  criticisms  on  his  sermons,  lectures,  or 
books.  He  was  invited  to  preach  here,  and  to  lecture 
there. 

It  was  not  an  agreeable  task  to  have  to  read  all  the  letters 
which  Archbishop  Spalding  received,  and  yet  he  rarely  failed 
to  return  a  prompt  answer.  He  was  the  most  punctual  of 
correspondents.  Not  to  receive  an  immediate  reply  to  a 
letter  addressed  to  him  meant  that  he  was  sick  or  absent 
from  home. 

To  a  Protestant  gentleman  who  seemed  to  be  honestly 
enquiring  after  religious  truth  he  wrote  as  follows : 

"  Dear  Sir  :  Most  willingly  will  I  extend  to  you  every  aidi 
in  my  power  in  securing  success  to  your  apparently  sincere 
desire  to  find  out  and  embrace  the  true  church  of  Christ.  I 
beg  to  propose  to  your  serious  meditation  before  God  the 
following  remarks,  which  embody  much  that  is  important  ta 
you  in  your  present  mental  and  religious  condition  : 

"  I.  Faith  is  not  merely  the  result  of  our  human  and  un- 
aided opinions,  but  it  is  supernatural — a  gift  of  God,  granted 
only  to  the  humble-minded  and  simple-hearted.  '  Unless- 
you  be  converted,  and  become  like  unto  little  children,  you 
shall   not   enter  into  the  kingdom   of    heaven.'     A  ray  of 


Correspondence  on  Various  Subjects.         281 

heavenly  light  flashes  upon  our  mind  when  struggling  darkly- 
after  the  truth  ;  and,  while  it  enlightens,  it  diffuses  also  a 
genial  warmth,  which  is  the  source  of  divine  love.  God  thus 
completes  the  work.  This  priceless  gift,  hidden  from  the 
wise  ones  of  the  world,  is  granted  to  the  simple-hearted,  and  it 
must  be  sought  with  humble,  trustful,  and  persevering  prayer. 
*  Without  such  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God,*  Heb.  xi. 

"  2.  The  church  of  iChrist  is  the  depository  of  the  saving 
faith.  It  is  a  divine  institution,  but  has  in  it  a  human 
element.  Christ  is  its  head,  and  it  is  the  body  of  Christ  par- 
taking of  his  divine  character.  The  church  is,  moreover,  the 
bride  of  Christ  and  the  only  mother  of  his  children.  '  No 
one  can  have  God  for  a  father  who  has  not  the  church  for  a 
mother,'  says  St.  Cyprian. 

"  3.  They  who  are  outside  of  this  church  through  their  own 
fault  cannot  be  saved  ;  for  they  violate  the  divine  command 
to  hear  the  church,  which  is  the  organ  of  Christ's  communi- 
cation with  the  world — '  he  who  hears  you,  hears  me.'  They 
who  are  outside  of  this  church  without  any  fault  of  their 
own  will  not  be  condemned  for  this.  Whether  or  not  it  is 
their  fault  God  only,  who  searches  hearts,  can  decide,  and 
to  his  judgment  we  leave  them.  This  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
church  on  exclusive  salvation,  and  it  commends  itself  by  its 
consistency  and  reasonableness. 

"  4.  The  doctrine  of  the  real  presence  is  perhaps  the  very 
clearest  thing  in  all  the  written  revelation  of  God ;  and  the 
only  logical  or  possible  way  of  explaining  it  is  through  tran- 
substantiation,  or  change  of  substance ;  but  the  change  is 
hidden,  and  is  thus  an  object  of  faith,  which  is  a  conviction 
of  things  unseen.  It  is  as  intelligible  as  the  Trinity  or  other 
mysteries,  and  is  perhaps  more  clearly  revealed  than  any  of 
them  all." 

To  one  who  was  troubled  by  the  opposition  of  the  church 
to  Freemasonry,  he  wrote  : 


282  Life  of  Archbishop  Spaldijig. 

"  For  more  than  a  hundred  years  before  the  issuing  of  the 
late  EncycHcal,  it  had  been  a  settled  discipline  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church  to  exclude  from  communion  all  members  of 
secret  societies.  This  discipline  is  based  upon  the  principle 
that  it  is  morally  wrong  to  take  an  oath  of  secrecy  under 
the  circumstances,  and  that  a  society  banded  together  by 
such  an  oath  is  therefore  unlawful  ;  and  this  without 
reference  to  the  greater  or  less  amount  of  evil  or  good 
that  may  be  supposed  to  exist  in  such  associations. 

"  No  doubt,  as  you  say.  Freemasonry  is  not  so  bad  in  this 
country  as  in  Europe  ;  but  it  may  be  for  all  this,  and  even  on 
this  very  account,  the  more  dangerous,  because  the  more 
insidious — on  the  principle  that  the  worst  of  all  counterfeits 
is  the  one  nearest  to  the  genuine  article.  The  great  evil  of 
Freemasonry  lies  in  this — that  it  is  a  human  substitute  for  a 
divine  religion  ;  and  its  high-sounding  benevolence  is  an 
implied  assumption  that  the  church  of  Christ  is  not  sufficient 
of  itself  to  render  men  benevolent  and  charitable.  Religion 
is  the  very  source  and  fountain-head  of  all  true  charity,  and 
it  needs  no  such  helps  and  can  brook  no  such  rivals  as  Free- 
masonry and  Oddfellowship.  The  men  who  belong  to  these 
societies  may  be,  as  many  of  them  no  doubt  are,  very  sin- 
cere and  excellent  persons  ;  but  they  would  be  much  better 
had  they  the  additional  divine  motive  of  action  and  the 
divine  grace  or  help  of  religion  to  prompt  and  guide  their 
natural  benevolence.  Knowing  how  well  disposed  are  many 
of  these  misguided,  or  rather  imperfectly  guided  men,  I  feel 
like  exclaiming  :  Talcs  cum  siut,  iitinani  nostri  essent  !  The 
natural  does  not  suffice;    the  supernatural  is  necessary!  " 

When  the  person  to  whom  this  letter  was  addressed 
hesitated  about  entering  the  church,  apparently  from  want 
•of  moral  courage,  Archbishop  Spalding  addressed  him  in 
the  following  words : 

"  Is  not  heaven  worth  all  the  comparatively  trifling  sacri- 


Correspondence  on  Various  Subjects.  283 

fices  which  you  are  called  on  to  make  in  order  to  secure  its 
enjoyment  ?  Did  not  the  early  disciples  leave  all  things  to 
follow  Christ  ?  And  after  having  now  for  eighteen  centuries 
•enjoyed  heaven,  do  they  regret  the  privations  which  they 
voluntarily  endured  ?  Is  this  the  case  with  the  young  man 
of  the  Gospel,  who,  having  great  possessions,  clung  to  them 
and  went  away  sad  when  our  dear  Lord  invited  him  to  be- 
come a  disciple  ?  Think  on  these  things,  and  act  on  those 
eternal  and  unchangeable  truths.  .  .  .  You  have  rightly 
interpreted  my  answer.  The  church  of  Christ  never  com- 
promises where  there  is  question  of  a  principle." 

This  concluding  sentence  refers  to  what  he  had  said  con- 
cerning Freemasonry  in  the  letter  which  I  have  given. 
Archbishop  Spalding  was  inclined  to  put  as  liberal  a  con- 
struction as  was  consistent  with  sound  principles  of  mor- 
ality upon  the  discipline  of  the  church  with  regard  to  secret 
societies  ;  and,  where  there  was  doubt  whether  a  particular 
association  should  be  looked  upon  as  condemned,  he  leaned 
to  the  side  of  liberty.  He  was  not,  for  instance,  in  favor  of 
visitine  with  ecclesiastical  censures  Catholics  who  are  mem- 
bars  of  trade-unions  and  similar  associations.  "  In  our  coun- 
try," he  said,  in  replying  to  a  person  who  had  asked  his 
advice  on  this  subject,  "  capital  is  tyrant,  and  labor  is  its 
slave.  I  have  no  desire  to  interfere  with  the  poor  in  their 
efforts  to  protect  themselves,  unless  it  be  proved  that  these 
societies  are  plotting  against  the  state  or  the  church." 

"  You  rightly  conjecture,"  he  wrote  to  a  Protestant  lady, 
"  that  I  should  be  gratified  to  serve  you,  though  you  are  not 
■a  Catholic,  and  are,  moreover,  an  entire  stranger.  Christi- 
anity inclines  us  to  do  all  the  good  we  can,  without  too 
close  scrutiny  into  persons  and  things." 

And  to  a  Catholic  lady  he  wrote  :  "  You  ask  mc  for  some- 
thing -which  will  prove  a  sensation  in  this  dull  and  insipid 
world.     I  answer  you  in  these  words:  All  for  Jesus!     ]\Iake 


284  Life  of  Archbis^hop  Spalding. 

yourself  a  spouse  of  Christ,  devoted  to  him,  body,  soul,  and 
heart  ;  loving  him  only  and  thinking  only  of  him  and  doing 
everything  for  him.  .  .  .  Anything  short  of  this  will 
not  satisfy  your  noble  aspirations.  Be  a  saint,  a  sister  of 
charity  in  the  world,  trying  to  do  good  and  to  convert  all  to 
Christ." 

In  reply  to  a  request  for  his  autograph  he  wrote:  "You 
ask  me  for  my  autograph  and  for  an  accompanying  senti- 
ment. My  autograph  is  scarcely  worth  my  giving  or  your 
receiving ;  and  I  know  of  no  sentiments  better  than  those 
conveyed  by  our  divine  Lord  and  Master  and  his  beloved 
disciple,  John  :  '  What  doth  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the 
whole  world,  and  lose  his  own  soul?'  '  God  is  light,  and  in 
him  there  is  no  darkness.'  '  He  who  loveth  his  brother 
abideth  in  the  light ;  but  he  who  hateth  his  brother  is  in 
darkness.'  " 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  SUFFERING  PEOPLE  OF  THE  SOUTH — THE  DIOCESE 
OF  CHARLESTON — THE  CATHOLIC  PROTECTORY — SER- 
MON   AT   THE    UNIVERSITY    OF   NOTRE    DAME. 

HE  assassination  of  President  Lincoln,  which  was 
a  national  calamity,  though  his  personal  charac- 
acter,  as  it  will  be  better  understood,  is  destined 
to  be  less  admired,  called  forth  the  following 
circular  from  Archbishop  Spalding : 

"  Fellow-Citizens  : 

"  A  deed  of  blood  has  been  perpetrated  which  causes 
every  heart  to  shudder,  and  which  calls  for  the  execration 
of  every  citizen.  On  Good  Friday,  the  hallowed  anniver- 
sary of  our  blessed  Lord's  crucifixion,  when  all  Christendom 
was  bowed  down  in  penitence  and  sorrow  at  his  tomb,  the 
President  of  these  United  States  was  foully  assassinated, 
and  a  wicked  attempt  was  made  upon  the  life  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  State.  Words  fail  us  in  expressing  detestation 
for  a  deed  so  atrocious,  hitherto  happily  unparallelled  in  our 
history.  Silence  is  perhaps  the  best  and  most  appropriate 
expression  of  a  sorrow  too  great  for  utterance. 

"  We  are  quite  sure  that  we  need  not  remind  our  brethren 
in  this  archdiocese  of  the  duty — which  we  are  confident  they 
will  willingly  perform — of  uniting  with  their  fellow-citizens 
in  whatever  may  be  deemed  most  suitable  for  indicating 
their  horror  of  the  crime  and  their  feelings  of  sympathy 
with  the  bereaved.  We  also  invite  them  to  join  in  humble 
supplication  to  God  for  our  beloved  and  afflicted  country ; 


286  Life  of  Archbishop  Spaldi^ig. 

and  Ave  enjoin  that  the  bells  of  all  our  churches  be  solemnly 
tolled  on  the  occasion  of  the  late  President's  funeral." 

In  the  winter  of  1864-65,  the  diocese  of  Charleston,  which 
at  that  time  extended  over  the  two  Carolinas,  was  tempo- 
rarily entrusted  by  the  Holy  See  to  the  care  of  Archbishop 
Spalding.  Dr.  Lynch,  the  Bishop  of  Charleston,  was  in 
Europe,  unable  to  return  home  on  account  of  the  blockade 
of  the  Southern  ports.  The  Vicar-General,  who  had  been 
shut  up  in  the  besieged  city,  cut  off  from  communication  with 
the  rest  of  the  diocese,  was  taken  sick  and  had  died.  Other 
priests  had  fallen  victims  to  disease  and  excessive  labor, 
until  in  Charleston  but  one  was  left  who  was  able  to  do  the 
work  of  the  ministry.  Archbishop  Spalding  gave  him  the 
powers  of  Vicar-General,  and  did  all  that  it  was  possible  to 
do  to  come  to  his  relief.  He  sent  two  priests  to  Newbern,. 
North  Carolina,  to  attend  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  sol- 
diers, amongst  whom  an  epidemic  had  broken  out.  He  suc- 
ceeded, too,  in  inducing  others  to  go  to  Charleston,  and 
interested  himself  in  obtaining  passes  for  them  from  the 
Government. 

"  I  thank  you,"  he  wrote  to  Archbishop  Odin,  of  New 
Orleans,  "  for  your  charity  in  so  effectually  interesting  your- 
self in  behalf  of  poor  Charleston.  Please  thank  the  good 
Provincial  [of  the  Jesuits]  in  my  name.  Father  N ex- 
pects to  start  for  Charleston  to-morrow.  His  companion  is 
sick  in  Richmond,  very  much  exhausted,  and  cannot  go  now." 

On  the  30th  of  June,  1865,  he  wrote  to  General  Gillmore, 
to  thank  him  for  protecting  the  churches  of  Charleston  :  "  I 
have  received  your  kind  favor  of  the  24th  of  this  month, 
communicating  the  welcome  intelligence  that,  in  compli- 
ance with  my  request,  you  have  promptly  taken  measures 
for  protecting  the  property  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
Charleston." 


The  Diocese  of  Charleston.  287 

Archbishop  Spalding's  sympathy  with  the  suffering  peo- 
ple of  the  South  was  very  great  ;  and  he  was,  I  believe,  the 
first  Catholic  bishop  to  make  an  appeal  in  behalf  of  those 
whom  the  fortunes  of  war  had  reduced  to  utter  wretched- 
ness. The  cry  of  distress  had  gone  forth,  and,  without 
stopping  to  consider  whether  it  was  politic — whether,  in 
view  of  the  bitter  partisan  feeling  which  had  scarcely  had 
time  to  abate  ever  so  little,  it  was  prudent — he  issued  a 
circular,  calling  upon  his  people  to  come  to  the  relief  of 
their  suffering  brethren  of  the  South. 

He  put  the  question  on  the  broad  basis  of  Christian 
charity,  and  he  felt  that  it  was  safe  to  trust  the  generosity 
of  the  American  character,  which  he  believed  capable  of 
rising  superior  to  partisan  feelings  when  appealed  to  in  the 
name  of  humanity. 

"  Is  it  not  clearly,"  he  said,  "  a  Christian  duty  for  us,  who, 
by  a  merciful  Providence,  have  been  to  a  great  extent  freed 
from  the  calamities  of  a  war  which  has  pressed  so  heavily 
upon  our  neighbors,  to  come  promptly  and  generously  to 
their  relief?  Can  we  be  held  blameless  before  God  if  our 
brethren,  whom  we  are  solemnly  commanded  to  love  even 
as  ourselves,  should  perish  through  our  coldness  and  neg- 
lect ?  Most  of  the  sufferers  are  women,  children,  and  other 
non-combatants,  whose  hands  are  outstretched  to  implore 
succor,  and  whose  sighs  of  anguish  ascend  to  heaven,  while 
their  tears  bedew  the  earth.  Can  we  find  it  in  our  hearts  to 
resist  their  appeal?" 

The  Catholics  of  Baltimore,  in  response  to  these  earnest 
words  of  their  Archbishop,  contributed  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars, which  was  distributed  among  the  impoverished  people 
of  the  South,  without  distinction  of  religious  faith.  The 
sum,  indeed,  was  paltry,  but  the  example  was  invaluable. 
To  a  Protestant  lady  who  applied  for  assistance  he  wrote: 

"  I  take  pleasure  in  enclosing  you   this  check,  and  I  am 


288  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

« 

only  sorry  that,  from  the  hundreds  of  applicants,  I  am  not 
able  to  send  you  much  more.  ...  It  was  no  doubt 
through  inadvertence  that  you  used  the  word  '  Romish,' 
which  is  a  nickname.  Our  true  name  is  Catholic,  or  Roman 
Catholic,  as  the  British  Parliament  and  all  polite  people 
call  us." 

Every  phase  of  the  question  of  education  attracted  the 
attention  of  Archbishop  Spalding.  He  was  of  the  opinion 
that  the  future  of  the  church  in  this  country  depended, 
humanly  speaking,  upon  this  vital  issue.  The  converts  to 
Catholicism  do  not  equal  in  number,  so  he  thought  at  least, 
those  who  are  lost  to  the  faith,  especially  in  our  large  cities, 
because  of  the  difficulties  with  which  we  have  to  contend  in 
our  ineffectual  efforts  to  secure  to  our  children  the  blessings 
of  Christian  education.  He  frankly  admitted  the  melancholy 
fact  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  idle  and  vicious  youth  of 
our  principal  cities  are  the  children  of  Catholics. 

Day  by  day  these  unhappy  children  are  caught  in  the 
commission  of  petty  crimes,  which  render  them  amenable 
to  the  authorities,  by  whom  they  are  placed  in  sectarian  or 
public  reformatories,  to  be  thence  transferred  by  hundreds 
to  distant  localities,  where  they  are  brought  up  in  complete 
ignorance  of  the  religion  in  which  they  had  been  baptized. 
Numerous  and  active  societies  also  exist,  whose  sole  aim  is 
to  snatch  from  the  church  these  helpless  and  unfortunate 

little  ones. 

In  his  frequent  journeyings  through  the  West,  Archbishop 
Spalding  had  become  acquainted  with  the  extent  of  the 
harm  which,  in  this  manner,  is  done  to  the  cause  of  Catho- 
licism in  this  country;  and  he  had  also  learned  that  the 
chief  source  of  the  evil  is  in  the  large  cities  of  the  East, 
where  the  church  finds  it  impossible  to  provide  for  the  great 
numbers  of  orphan  and  indigent  children  who  are  each  year 
thrown  upon  her. 


The  CatJiolic  Protectory.  289 

One  of  his  first  thoughts,  therefore,  after  his  promotion  to 
the  see  of  Baltimore,  was  given  to  this  subject ;  and,  after 
sufficient  dehberation,  he  determined  to  found  a  CathoHc 
protectory  or  industrial  school,  as,  in  his  opinion,  this  was 
likely  to  prove  the  most  effectual  remedy  for  the  evil. 

"  For  years,"  he  said,  in  the  letter  which  he  addressed  to 
his  people  on  this  matter,  "  we  have  been  losing  hundreds 
of  our  poor  children,  particularly  orphan  and  indigent  bo)-s. 
They  are  taken  up  from  the  streets  or  from  the  haunts 
of  poverty,  and  are  placed  in  institutions  where  their  faith 
is  either  entirely  neglected  or  artfully  undermined.  Do 
we  not  find  all  over  the  country  thousands  of  persons 
who,  from  their  names,  should  be  Catholics,  but  who,  un- 
fortunately, have  abandoned  the  church,  and  who  rear  up 
their  families  in  ignorance,  sometifnes  in  hatred  of  her 
sacred  principles  ?  Thus  the  evil  is  propagated  and  con- 
tinually multiplied  from  generation  to  generation.  Hun- 
dreds of  thousands,  if  not  millions,  who  should  belong  to 
the  church  in  this  country,  are  now,  unhappily,  through  the 
criminal  neglect  of  parents  and  the  agencies  above  referred 
to,  estranged  from  her  communion.  The  evil  is  truly  great, 
even  gigantic,  and  it  seems  to  be  on  the  increase.  .  .  .  The 
only  practical  remedy  is  the  establishment,  on  a  large  scale, 
of  protectories  or  industrial  schools,  in  which  poor  boys,  ex- 
posed to  the  danger  of  losing  their  faith,  may  be  religiously 
educated  and  trained  up  to  pursuits  which  will  fit  them  to 
become  useful  members  of  society  and  ornaments  of  the 
•church.  Such  an  establishment  we  have  long  had  very 
much  at  heart,  even  from  the  first  moment  after  God  had 
constituted  us  your  chief  pastor,  with  the  fearful  responsi- 
bility of  answering  for  )'our  souls  ;  and  divine  Providence 
has  at  length  favored  us  with  the  opportunity  to  make  a 
be":inninfj.  We  have  secured  the  services  of  an  excellent 
and   devoted   Brotherhood  for   this  purpose,  and  we  have 


290  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

procured  suitable  grounds — nearly  fifty  acres,  with  the  pros- 
pect of  getting  over  a  hundred — within  two  miles  of  Balti- 
more." 

In  carrying  out  this  work,  into  which  he  had  entered  with 
his  wonted  energy  and  will,  Archbishop  Spalding  had  to 
contend  with  serious  difficulties. 

It  was  looked  upon  as  something  new  in  the  Catholic 
history  of  Maryland,  and  the  niJiil  innovetur  Jtisi  quod'  tradi- 
tum  was  brought  to  bear  against  it.  Then,  it  was  said,  the 
plan  could  not  be  carried  out  ;  it  would  be  impossible  to 
raise  the  necessary  means  ;  the  Catholics  of  the  archdiocese 
had  already  more  institutions  than  they  were  able  to  sup- 
port, and  they  were  not,  moreover,  accustomed  to  being  so 
heavily  taxed  for  their  religion,  and  would  not  respond  to 
appeals  made  in  behalf  of  a  work  the  success  of  which  was, 
to  say  the  least,  doubtful. 

Such  were  the  views  of  various  prudent  persons,  who 
seem  to  think  it  their  special  mission  to  serve  the  office  of 
brakes  when  the  church  appears  to  them  to  be  in  danger  of 
going  forward  too  rapidly. 

Archbishop  Spalding,  however,  was  not  disconcerted.  He 
had  not  moved  without  first  considering  what  was  to  be 
done.  He  seldom,  indeed,  if  ever,  began  a  work  from  en- 
thusiasm or  impulse,  and  he  knew  that  miracles  were  not  to 
be  looked  for  where  zeal  and  industry  would  accomplish  the 
desired  result.  Though  he  relied  on  God's  providence,  he 
knew  that  God's  providence  is  that  we  should  greatly  rely 
on  the  natural  resources  which  he  has  given  us.  If  we  do 
nothing  for  ourselves,  God  will  do  nothing  for  us.  Effort  he 
believed  to  be  the  first  law  of  progress  in  the  church  as  in 
the  world.  Though  eager  to  push  forward  whatever  he 
thought  would  advance  the  cause  of  religion,  he  was  not  a 
man  to  rush  rashly  into  any  enterprise.  Festiita  lente  was 
one  of  his  favorite  mottoes.     But  then  he  had  great  faith  in 


The  Catholic  Protectory.  291 

the   willingness   of  the   Catholic    people  to  do  their  duty 
when  it  is  placed  before  them  in  the  proper  manner. 

He  did  not  aim  to  rouse  the  enthusiasm  of  those  whom 
he  sought  to  influence — possibly  he  had  little  power  to  do 
this — but  he  appealed  to  their  understanding  and  sense  of 
right,  and,  having  shown  that  a  project  was  feasible,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  explain  how  its  realization  became  a  duty. 

Though  no  one  could  be  more  jealous  than  he  of  any 
foreign  interference  in  ecclesiastical  matters,  he  yet  believed 
that  the  church  needs  the  active  and  intelligent  co-opera- 
tion of  the  laity  in  many  of  her  most  important  works. 
Then,  he  had  the  rare  art  of  knowing  how  and  whom  to 
consult. 

"  You  should  not  be  so  sensitive,"  he  wrote  to  one  of  his 
clergymen,  "  about  the  opinions  of  the  people  belonging  to- 
your  charge.  You  should  act  in  concert  with  them,  asking" 
their  advice,  and  following  what  may  seem  most  sound  ;  in 
case  of  difficulty,  referring  to  me.  Thus  only  can  you  hope 
to  win  their  confidence  and  gain  their  co-operation.  This  is. 
my  own  rule  of  conduct.  Conciliation  and  kindness  are 
the  best." 

In  projects  and  transactions  where  money  was  one  term  of 
the  equation  to  be  formed,  he  always  took  counsel  of  busi- 
ness men  ;  and  his  own  knowledge  of  such  matters  enabled 
him  to  make  the  best  use  of  their  advice.  His  correspon- 
dence shows  that  he  was  persuaded  that  the  surest  way  to 
make  the  people  generous  is  to  secure  their  confidence  in 
the  practical  wisdom  with  which  their  offerings  are  used^ 
He  did  not  believe  that,  in  the  financial  affairs  of  the  church, 
there  could  be  any  need  for  secrecy,  and  he  therefore  held 
that,  for  many  reasons,  the  people  should  be  informed  of  the 
precise  manner  in  which  their  contributions  had  been  em- 
ployed. 

He  placed    his    Protectory,  which    he    had    incorporated 


292  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

under  the  title  of  St.  Mary's  Industrial  School  for  Boys, 
under  the  protection  of  the  Immaculate  Mother  of 
God. 

Mrs.  McTavish,  of  whose  generosity  I  have  already  had 
occasion  to  speak,  gave  the  Archbishop,  for  the  site  of  the 
institution,  one  hundred  acres  of  land  lying  on  the  Frederick 
Road,  within  a  short  distance  of  the  city.  Temporary 
buildings  were  erected  here,  and  the  Xaverian  Brothers, 
whom  Archbishop  Spalding  had  brought  from  Belgium  for 
this  purpose,  took  charge  of  the  Protectory  on  the  Feast  of 
the   Nativity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  1866. 

They  began  with  one  boy  ;  the  number,  however,  soon 
increased  to  forty-five,  which  was  as  many  as  could  be 
accommodated  in  the  temporary  structure.  In  April,  1867, 
the  foundation  of  the  permanent  building  was  laid,  and  it 
was  completed  in  August,  1868.  It  is  built  of  hammered 
stone,  and  is  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  by  sixty-six  feet, 
five  stories  high,  and  capable  of  giving  accommodation  to 
four  hundred  boys.  The  entire  cost  of  this  structure  was 
not  more  than  sixty  thousand  dollars. 

The  treasurer's  report  from  May,  1866,  to  December,  1808, 
shows  that  within  that  period  eighty-one  thousand  four 
hundred  and  thirty-six  dollars  had  been  received  for  the 
institution.  Of  this  sum,  all  to  about  one  thousand 
dollars,  which  still  remained  in  the  treasury,  had  been 
spent  in  the  erection  of  the  new  Protectory,  and  in 
buying  implements  for  the  farm,  and  machinery  for  car- 
rying on  the  various  trades.  In  1871,  the  institution  had 
received  two  hundred  and  sixty-nine  boys,  who  were 
being  taught  the  trades  of  printing,  shoemaking,  tailoring, 
and  carpentering,  whilst  others  were  employed  as  farmers, 
bakers,  and  blacksmiths.  The  boys  do  not,  however, 
devote  their  time  exclusively  to  these  manual  occupa- 
tions.    They  have  hours  for  study  and   recitation,  and   for 


The  Catholic  Protectory.  293 

instruction  in  the  principles  necessary  to  form  faithful 
Catholics   and   good   citizens. 

The  crreat  advantage  of  the  industrial  school  over  the 
orphan  asylum  is  apparent.  Orphan  asylums^  especially 
for  boys,  are,  for  the  most  part,  merely  drifting-places, 
where  our  children  are  sheltered,  for  a  time,  from  the  cur- 
rent that  is  hurrying  them  on  to  ruin,  to  which  they  must 
soon  again  be  exposed,  scarcely  better  prepared  to  battle 
against  its  seductive  force  than  when  they  were  first  re- 
ceived into  the  asylum.  The  boys  especially  are  thrown 
back  into  the  world  without  a  trade  or  any  certain  means 
of  gaining  a  livelihood,  their  habits  of  idleness  but  ill  cor- 
rected, their  self-respect  not  increased,  and  they  therefore 
fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  venal  enticements  of  a  mistaken 
proselytism,  or  to  the  allurements  of  vulgar  pleasures.  That 
these  objections  do  not  apply,  at  least  with  the  same  force, 
to  industrial  schools  is  evident. 

The  history  of  these  institutions,  not  only  as  conducted 
by  the  Catholic  Church,  but  even  when  under  other  control, 
shows  that  this  system  tends  to  develop  self-respect,  energy, 
and  other  noble  traits  of  character.  The  young  men  who 
have  grown  up  in  the  protectory  are  frequently  proud  of 
their  alma  mater,  and  in  after-life  look  back  to  her  with  a 
feeling  akin  to  that  with  which  a  scholar  regards  his  college 
or  university.  Then  they  return  to  the  world  skilled 
laborers,  with  habits  of  order  and  industry,  able  with  head 
erect  to  elbow  their  way  through  the  crowd  in  the  great 
life-struggle.  Though  Archbishop  Spalding  was  not  the 
first  Catholic  who  sought,  by  means  of  the  industrial  school, 
to  save  the  abandoned  children  of  our  large  cities — two 
converts.  Father  Raskins  and  Dr.  Ives,  having  preceded 
him  in  this  work — yet  no  one  entered  into  it  with  greater 
earnestness,  or  had  stronger  faith  than  he  in  the  results  to 
be   expected   from    institutions  of  this  kind  ;  which,  more- 


294  ^'^fi  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

over,  have  received  the  high  sanction  of  the  fathers  of  the 
Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  "  We,  therefore,"  say 
the  venerable  prelates  of  the  American  church,  "  earnestly 
exhort  the  Bishops  to  defend,  with  every  possible  care  and 
solicitude,  the  tender  lambs  of  the  Christian  fold  from  the 
wolves  that  hang  around  them.  Let  them  establish  indus- 
trial schools  everywhere,  but  especially  near  the  great  cities, 
where  the  number  of  those  in  danger  is  larger.  Worthy  of 
praise  are  they  who  use  every  energy  to  build  to  God's 
honor  and  worship  magnificent  temples  of  marble  ;  but  a 
far  better  and  more  useful  labor  is  that  which  prepares  for 
the  divine  Majesty  an  eternal  dwelling  in  these  living  and 
-chosen  stones."  * 

And  in  their  pastoral  letter,  referring  to  this  same  sub- 
ject, they  say:  "The  only  remedy  for  this  great  and  daily 
augmenting  evil  is  to  provide  Catholic  protectories  or  indus- 
trial schools,  to  which  such  children  maybe  sent,  and  where, 
under  the  only  influence  that  is  known  to  have  really 
reached  the  roots  of  vice,  the  youthful  culprit  may  cease  to 
do  evil  and  learn  to  do  good. 

"  We  rejoice  that  in  some  of  our  dioceses — would  that  we 
could  say  in  all ! — a  beginning  has  been  made  in  this  good 
work  ;  and  we  cannot  too  earnestly  exhort  our  venerable 
brethren  of  the  clergy  to  bring  this  matter  before  their 
respective  flocks,  to  endeavor  to  impress  on  Christiaii 
parents  the  duty  of  guarding  their  children  from  the  evils 
above  referred  to,  and  to  invite  them  to  make  persevering 
and  efiectual  efforts  for  the  establishment  of  institutions 
wherein,  under  the  influence  of  religious  teachers,  the  way- 
wardness of  youth  may  be  corrected,  and  good  seed  planted 
in  the  soil  in  which,  while  men  slept,  the  enemy  had  sowed 
tares." 

In   May,  1866,  Archbishop  Spalding,  by  invitation  of  the 
*  Con.  Plen.  Bait.  II.,  Decret.  446. 


Sermon  at  the  University  of  Notre  Dame.     295 

Provincial  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Cross,  delivered 
a  sermon  on  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  unveiling  of  a  monumental  statue,  and  of  the  conse- 
cration of  the  University  of  Notre  Dame  to  the  Immaculate 
Mother  of  God.  His  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  was 
truly  tender  and  childlike  ;  but  he  could  not  bear  anything 
false  in  the  expression  of  the  love  which  all  true  Christians 
should  feel  for  her.  "  Such  faults,"  he  wrote  in  1865,  "  do 
great  harm  to  the  solid  and  proper  devotion  to  our  sweet 
Mother,  who  is  best  praised  when  the  eulogy  is  strictly  true."  * 
And  in  a  letter  to  Archbishop  Kenrick,  written  in  1861,  he 
said,  referring  to  certain  books  of  devotion:  "How  much 
devotional  trash  disfigures  our  books  !"  A  few  passages 
from  his  sermon  at  Notre  Dame,  while  serving  as  examples 
of  his  style  as  a  preacher,  will  help  to  show  his  deep  love  for 
Mary.  "  There  are,"  he  said,  "  two  great  events,  the  great- 
est of  all  in  the  world's  history.  The  first  was  disastrous  ; 
the  second  glorious.  In  both  these  events  a  woman  figured, 
an  angel  figured,  a  man  figured.  In  the  first,  Eve,  the  mo- 
ther of  all  the  living  ;  in  the  second,  Mary,  the  Mother  of  all 
the  regenerate — Eve,  the  mother  of  the  fallen  ;  Mary,  the 
Mother  of  the  risen.  In  the  first,  an  angel  of  evil  took  the 
form  of  the  serpent,  and  beguiled  unto  her  ruin  and  unto  our 
ruin  our  first  mother.  In  the  second,  the  archangel  of  God 
addressed  another  woman,  and  she  obeyed  his  voice  and 
became  the  mother  of  a  new  race.  Man  figured  in  both ;  he 
fell  in  the  first ;  and,  immediately  after  that  first  fall,  the 
prophecy  went  forth  that  God  would  put  enmity  between 
the  serpent  and  the  woman,  and  between  her  seed  and  his 
seed  ;  and  that  she,  through  her  seed,  Jesus  Christ,  should 
crush  the  serpent's  head  ;  that  she  should  retrieve  by  her 
obedience  what  had  been  lost  by  the  disobedience  of  the 
first  mother  of  the  human  race.  The  parallel  is  not  mine. 
It  comes  down  to  us  through  the  Fathers  of  the  church  from 


296  Life  of  Archb ish op  Spa Idijig. 

the  very  beginning  of  Christianity.  It  comes  echoing  down 
the  ages,  from  the  days  of  the  apostles  until  the  later  times 
of  St.  Alphonsus  Liguori.  Justin  Martyr,  in  the  second 
century ;  Irenaeus  and  TertuUian,  the  powerful  champions 
of  Christianity  in  its  struggle  with  infidelity  at  the  end  of 
the  second  and  the  beginning  of  the  third  century  ;  St.  Am- 
brose, St.  Peter  Chrysologus,  and  St.  Augustine,  who  recite 
the  language  of  TertuUian  ;  and,  indeed,  all  the  Fathers  teach 
that  Mary  retrieved  by  her  obedience  all  that  Eve  had  lost 
by  her  disobedience  ;  that  Mary's  becoming  the  mother  of 
the  Man-God  crushed  the  serpent's  head,  and  bade  us  lift 
up  our  heads  and  look  heavenward,  for  the  day  of  our 
redemption  was  near  at  hand.  We  may  not  say  that 
Mary  was  but  a  passive  instrument  in  this  great  work 
of  redemption.  She  was  an  intelligent  instrument ;  she 
was  a  moral  agent,  and  could  have  refused  her  consent. 
But  she  was  obedient;  she  assented,  and  became  the 
mother  of  her  Saviour-God.  .  .  .  Do  not  say  that 
we  exaggerate  the  prerogatives  of  Mary.  The  church 
of  the  living  God  never  exaggerates.  Whatever  she  says 
and  does  is  said  and  done  in  truth.  We  are  opposed 
to  all  exaggerations,  for  Mary  needs  no  exaggerated  eu- 
logy. The  simple  truth  is  sublime  enough,  and  sufficient 
for  her  votaries,  however  dearly  they  may  love  her,  or 
however  much  they  may  wish  to  exalt  her. 
The  church  proclaims  what  we  always  preach — that  Mary 
is  but  a  creature  ;  that  her  Son  was  and  is  God  ;  and  that 
there  is  an  infinite  distance  between  Mary  and  her  Son. 
She  tells  us,  and  we  preach  it,  that  Mary  was  redeemed  by 
the  blood  of  her  Son  :  that  she  has  no  favor,  no  exemption, 
but  by  and  through  the  blood  of  that  divine  Son.  .  .  . 
All  that  we  have  to  do  is  simply  to  place  her  in  the  position 
in  which  God  has  placed  her,  to  honor  her  as  the  archangel 
honored  her  in  the  name  of  God,  and  to  love  her  as  her  own 


Sermon  at  the  University  of  Notre  Dame.     297 

Son  loved  her.  The  first  pulsation  of  his  heart  in  his 
mother's  womb,  and  the  first  light  of  love  that  was  in  his 
eye  when  he  came  into  the  world,  were  given  to  his  dear 
mother;  and  the  last  sigh  which  escaped  him  on  the  cross 
was  breathed  out  to  that  same  tender,  devoted,  and  loving 
being.  .  .  .  They  tell  us  that  in  honoring  the  mother 
we  dishonor  the  Son.  Believe  it  not.  Thev  who  make  the 
objection  do  not  themselves  believe  it.  Why  do  we  honor 
Mary  ?  We  honor  her  because  she  was  his  mother  ;  we 
honor  her  because  he  loved  her,  because  he  is  our  dear 
Brother  and  she  is  our  dear  Mother.  I  look  at  the  beauti- 
ful, serene  moon,  which  lights  up  the  night  in  the  heavens,, 
with  wonder  and  admiration  ;  but  do  I  detract  in  so  doing 
from  the  brilliancy  of  the  sun  ?  And  yet,  does  not  the  moon 
derive  its  light  from  the  sun  ?  .  .  .  They  who  scoff  at 
our  love  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  do  not  understand  the  feel- 
ings of  a  Catholic  heart,  .  .  .  There  is  a  mother  ;  she 
has  with  her  a  little  daughter,  whom  she  is  caressing  ;  her 
heart  is  full  of  love  ;  her  words  are  not  marked  with  logical 
precision  or  accuracy ;  she  idolizes  the  child  ;  her  mother's 
heart  knows  no  bounds ;  she  would  seem  to  prefer  that 
child  to  God — certainly  to  all  else  in  the  world.  These  men 
who  sneer  at  us  should  carp  at  that  fond  mother  for  the 
simple  outpourings  of  her  mother's  heart." 


Sitl'^' 

^?^ 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

THE   SECOND   PLENARY    COUNCIL   OF   BALTIMORE. 

N  a  letter  to  Bishop  Timon,  under  date  of  August 
23,  1865,  Archbishop  Spalding  alludes  to  his  de- 
sire to  hold  a  Plenary  Council  of  the  bishops  of 
the  United  States : 
"  A  letter  from  Rome,  dated  July  17,  states  that  the  ques- 
tion of  the  Plenary  Council  to  be  held  next  year  was  agitated 
in  Rome,  and  that  Cardinal  Barnabo  was  warmly  in  favor  of 
it.  This  is,  no  doubt,  in  consequence  of  our  letter,  written 
June  14,  explaming,  under  four  or  five  heads,  the  motives 
for  holding  such  a  council.  The  intelligence  is  favorable 
to  our  project,  from  which  I  anticipate  much  good.  Why 
should  we  not  have  a  Catholic  university?  It  would  be  a 
great  thing  if  we  could  only  agree  as  to  the  location  and 
arrangements." 

The  principal  motives  for  holding  a  council,  to  which 
reference  is  here  made,  were,  first,  that  at  the  close  of  the 
national  crisis,  which  had  acted  as  a  dissolvent  upon  all  sec- 
tarian ecclesiastical  organizations,  the  Catholic  Church  might 
present  to  the  country  and  the  world  a  striking  proof  of  the 
strong  bond  of  unity  with  which  her  members  are  knit  to- 
gether. Secondly,  that  the  collective  wisdom  of  the  church 
in  this  country  might  determine  what  measures  should  be 
adopted  in  order  to  meet  the  new  phase  of  national  life 
which  the  result  of  the  war  had  just  inaugurated  ;  for, 
though  the  church  is  essentially  the  same  in  all  times  and 
places,  her  accidental  relations  to  the  world  and  the  state 
are  necessarily  variable. 


The  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,     299 

"  The  customs  of  men,"  says  Benedict  XIV.,  "  vary,  and 
circumstances  continually  change.  That  which  is  useful  at 
one  period  may  cease  to  be  so,  and  may  become  even  hurt- 
ful in  another  age.  The  duty  of  a  prudent  pastor,  unless 
prevented  by  a  higher  law,  is  to  accommodate  himself  to 
times  and  places,  to  lay  aside  many  ancient  usages,  when  by 
his  own  judgment  and  the  light  of  God  he  deems  this  to  be 
for  the  greater  good  of  the  diocese  with  which  he  is  en- 
trusted." * 

Thirdly,  that  an  earnest  effort  might  be  made  to  render 
ecclesiastical  discipline,  as  far  as  possible,  uniform  throughout 
the  entire  extent  of  the  United  States.  The  fourth  motive 
I  shall  give  in  the  words  of  Archbishop  Spalding  : 

"  I  think,"  he  wrote,  "  that  it  is  our  most  urgent  duty  to 
discuss  the  future  status  of  the  negro.  Four  millions  of 
these  unfortunate  beings  are  thrown  on  our  charity,  and 
they  silently  but  eloquently  appeal  to  us  for  help.  We 
have  a  golden  opportunity  to  reap  a  harvest  of  souls,  which, 
neglected,  may  not  return." 

The  bishops  of  the  United  States  very  generally  agreed 
that  the  time  was  opportune  for  holding  a  Plenary  Council, 
and  that  the  interests  of  religion  demanded  that  it  should 
be  convoked  at  as  early  a  date  as  possible.  Some  few,  how- 
ever, seemed  to  hesitate,  on  the  ground  chiefly  that  the 
country  was  still  in  too  unsettled  a  condition,  and  that 
public  sentiment  with  regard  to  the  church,  especially  in 
the  North,  was  as  yet  very  uncertain. 

Then  they  feared,  too,  that  unpleasant  discussions  might 
arise  in  the  Council. 

Archbishop  Spalding  himself  felt  no  anxiety  on  these 
points.  The  bishops  were  to  meet  to  attend  to  their  own 
business,  and  not  to  meddle  with  affairs  of  state ;  and  he 
thought  he  understood  the  public  sentiment  of  the  nation 

*  De  Synod  Dioce.   lib.  v.  c.  iii. 


300  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

well  enough  to  feel  confident  that  in  doing  this  they  could 
have  nothing  to  fear. 

As  to  the  other  cause  of  uneasiness,  he  wrote  to  one  of 
his  brethren  in  the  episcopate  : 

"  I  see  no  reason  why  we  should  fear  the  discussion  of 
agitating  topics.  The  question  is  closed  and  need  not  be 
reopened." 

Pius  IX.,  in  his  Letters  Apostolic  of  February  i6,  r866, 
after  signifying  his  approval  of  the  project  of  holding  a 
Plenary  Council,  constituted  Archbishop  Spalding  its  presi- 
dent. "  Wherefore,"  wrote  the  Holy  Father,  "  having  fully 
examined  the  subject,  we,  with  our  venerable  brethren,  the 
cardinals  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  who  superintend  the 
affairs  of  the  propagation  of  the  faith,  have  resolved  to  dele- 
gate you,  venerable  brother,  whose  piety,  knowledge,  and 
profound  reverence  for  the  Holy  See  are  well  known  to  us, 
to  the  office  of  convoking  and  presiding  over  that  Council. 
.  .  .  We  command,  besides,  all  and  each  of  your  venera- 
ble brother  bishops  of  the  United  States,  that  they  receive 
and  accept  you,  whom  we  have  deputed  to  call  together 
this  Council,  as  its  president  and  director,  and  that  they 
obey  you,  assist  you,  and  support  you." 

As  the  time  for  holding  the  synod  had  been  left  to  the 
judgment  of  the  American  prelates,  Archbishop  Spalding, 
having  first  received  their  opinions  on  the  subject,  issued 
letters  of  convocation,  calling  all  who,  by  right  or  custom, 
should  take  part  in  a  council  of  this  kind,  to  meet  in  Balti- 
more on  the  second  Sunday  of  October,  1866. 

This  delay  was  deemed  necessary  for  the  proper  prepara- 
tion of  the  matters  to  be  treated  of  in  the  Council. 

"  I  know  enough  about  councils,"  wrote  the  Archbishop,. 
"  to  understand  that,  if  nothing  definite  be  prepared,  no- 
thing will  be  done,  but  all  will  end  in  talk." 

In  another  letter,  in  which   he  gives  his  views  concern^ 


The  Second  Plenary  Coicncil  of  Baltimore.     301 

ing  what  should  be  done  in  the  Council,  he  says:  "I 
have  thought  of  embodying  in  the  Council  a  succinct  expo- 
sition of  doctrine,  together  with  the  condemnation  of  cur- 
rent heresies  and  errors,  as  well  as  suitable  rules  for  the 
regulation  of  moral  conduct  and  discipline.  ...  I  have 
thought,  also,  of  making  our  approaching  Council  a  com- 
plete repertory  of  our  canon  law,  embracing,  in  systematic 
order,  all  our  previous  enactments  in  the  Baltimore  councils, 
together  with  such  canons  of  provincial  and  diocesan  synods 
as  we  may  wish  to  make  of  general  application.  In  a  word, 
of  making  it  a  sort  of  corpus  juris  for  the  American  Church  ; 
throwing  into  an  appendix  all  Roman  rescripts  and  deci- 
sions which  have  reference  to  our  affairs."  He  adds:  "In 
order  to  carry  out  this  plan,  I  shall  need  the  active  co- 
operation of  the  Metropolitans." 

The  idea  of  making  doctrinal  exposition  and  the  condemn- 
ation of  current  errors  features  of  the  Council  was  new  in 
the  history  of  such  assemblies  in  this  country.  A  national 
council  can.  of  course,  in  this  matter  do  nothing  more  than 
state  the  faith  already  defined,  since  it  does  not  lie  within 
its  competency  to  make  new  definitions,  which  are  reserved 
either  to  the  infallible  Pontiff  or  to  the  church  in  oecumen- 
ical council  assembled,  and  presided  over  by  him.  This 
feature  in  Archbishop  Spalding's  plan  was  not,  however, 
without  precedent  or  the  approval  of  the  Holy  See.  It  is 
found  in  several  of  the  principal  provincial  councils  held  in 
Europe,  from  1850  to  i860,  as  in  those  of  Cologne,  Vienna, 
and  Prague ;  and,  in  one  or  two  instances,  the  Holy  See 
found  the  meagreness  of  doctrinal  statement  worthy  of 
blame.  As  each  variety  of  social  condition  must  have  its 
own  peculiar  phases  of  error,  it  cannot  but  bo  higliK-  useful 
to  place  the  truth  in  precisely  that  light  in  which  the  dan- 
ger of  the  error  will,  by  contrast,  be  best  seen  ;  and  no 
more  solemn  or  effectual  means  of  calling  the  attention  of 


02  Life  of  Archbishop  Spaldi7ig. 


0 


the  faithful  of  a  particular  portion  of  the  church  to  sound 
doctrine,  as  opposed  to  the  false  theories  and  systems 
which  they  hear  defended  around  them,  could  be  found 
than  that  which  is  given  in  the  united  voices  of  the  entire 
episcopate  of  the  nation. 

In  the  fall  of  1865,  Archbishop  Spalding  wrote:  "  Thave 
procured  copies  of  some  dozen  provincial  and  diocesan 
councils,  held  in  Europe  from  1850  to  i860,  and  I  must 
confess  that,  in  comparison  with  them,  ours  appear  very 
meagre,  especially  in  moral  and  doctrinal  exposition,  which 
in  them  occupies  much  space.  We  have  very  much  to  do 
to  lay  deeply  and  solidly  the  foundations  of  our  canon  law. 
Until  now  we  seem  not  to  have  advanced  far  beyond  the 
rudiments." 

No  sooner  had  the  Holy  Father  given  his  sanction  to  the 
holding  of  a  council,  than  Archbishop  Spalding  entered  into 
the  work  with  all  the  energy  of  which  he  was  capable. 

"  My  whole  heart  was  and  is  in  the  Council,"  he  wrote  to 
Cardinal  CuUen  ;  "  and,  whatever  else  may  be  said,  I  think  all 
will  allow  me  credit  for  considerable  industry.  The  codifi- 
cation of  all  previous  Baltimore  legislation,  together  with 
the  seeking  out  and  verifying  all  quotations,  was  itself  a 
laborious  task.  But  the  greatest  difficulty  was  in  shaping 
the  new  decrees  so  as  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  so  many 
provinces  and  dioceses,  so  differently  organized  and  so 
remote  from  one  another,  with  so  many  nationalities — 
French  and  Spanish  particularly,  besides  Irish,  German, 
and  American ;  to  harmonize  all  this,  and  to  present  a  code 
of  uniform  discipline  in  which  all  could  essentially  agree, 
was  not  an  easy  task."  "  The  doctrinal  and  pastoral  portions 
of  the  Council,"  he  wrote  upon  another  occasion,  "  have  been 
drawn  up  with  much  labor  and  care  ;  every  quotation  hav- 
ing been  carefully  verified  from  the  original." 

The  Acta  Concilio  Prcevia,  containing  a  brief  statement  of 


The  Second  Plenary  Cotuici I  of  Baltimore.     303'. 

the  matters  to  be  treated  of  in  the  Council,  were  sent  to  all 
whose  duty  it  was  to  take  part  in  the  discussions.  Particu- 
lar i^zVw// were  assigned  to  each  Metropolitan,  who  was  re- 
quested, with  the  assistance  of  his  suffragans,  to  prepare  them 
for  conciliary  action.  The  first  two  were  written  out  by 
Archbishop  Spalding  himself.  The  prelates  were  requested 
to  make  any  suggestions  which  might  seem  good  to  them, 
and  freely  to  propose  whatever  they  should  deem  to  be  in 
furtherance  of  the  progress  and  welfare  of  the  church  in  this 
country.  "  Draw  up  your  bill,"  he  wrote  to  one  of  them, 
"  as  they  say  in  Congress,  and  it  shall  be  brought  before  the 
house."  He  desired  that  the  largest  liberty  consistent  with' 
the  rules  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  order  in  delibera- 
tive assemblies  should  be  exercised  in  the  discussion  of 
matters  submitted  to  the  action  of  the  Council ;  and  to  this 
end,  whoever  might  choose  was  permitted  in  debate  to  speak 
English  instead  of  Latin. 

When  the  tituli  had  been  returned,  Archbishop  Spalding 
called  together  a  college  of  theologians  to  assist  him  in  the 
final  preparation  of  the  matters  to  be  proposed  to  the  Fa- 
thers of  the  Council.  In  connection  with  the  history  of  this 
Ccettis  TJicologorum,  I  may  be  permitted  to  quote  from  a 
letter  of  Archbishop  Spalding  to  Bishop  Lynch,  of  Charles- 
ton :  "  I  can  scarcely  thank  you  sufficiently,"  he  wrote,  "  for 
sending  me  Dr.  Corcoran.  His  services  have,  indeed,  been 
invaluable."  Dr.  Keogh,  too,  was  an  able  member  of  this 
body  of  theologians.  Bishop  Heiss,  at  that  time  rector  of 
the  Seminary  of  Milwaukee,  had  been  invited  and  had  come 
on  to  lend  the  assistance  of  his  learning  and  experience  to 
the  work ;  but  he  was  unfortunately  taken  sick  a  short  time 
after  his  arrival  in  Baltimore.  The  members  of  the  reli- 
gious orders  also  added  the  weight  of  their  great  knowledge 
and  wisdom  to  these  deliberations.  Indeed,  to  this  work  of 
preparation  Archbishop  Spalding,  with  great  discernment. 


304  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

brought  the  very  first  theological  talent  of  the  country.  He 
wished  to  make  the  Council  as  perfect  as  might  be,  and  he 
therefore  called  to  his  aid  the  ablest  men  whom  he  could 
find.  Nothing  gave  him  greater  delight  than  to  place 
learning  and  genius  in  the  service  of  religion.  He  had 
not  the  weakness  to  imagine  that  the  church  is  not  capable 
of  satisfying  all  the  intellectual  wants  of  even  the  most  gifted 
minds  ;  or  that,  because  a  man  is  able,  he  should  be  looked 
upon  with  distrust.  If  great  minds  have  proved  untrue  to 
the  church,  so  have  little  minds  ;  and  in  neither  case  was 
the  fault  of  the  head,  but  of  the  heart.  Wherever  he  beheld 
men  of  talent  battling  for  the  truth,  he  lent  them  the  aid  of 
a  sympathy  that  was  not  barren.  "  Frater  nostcr  e^s,"  he 
would  say,  "  crescas  in  viille  viilliar 

When  at  length  the  day  on  which  the  Council  was  to 
meet  had  come,  everything  was  ready.  Not  even  the 
minutest  details  had  been  overlooked  in  the  preparation. 

On  the  7th  of  October,  1866,  seven  archbishops,  thirty- 
eight  bishops,  three  mitred  abbots,  and  over  one  hundred 
and  twenty  theologians  met  in  Baltimore  to  take  part  in 
the  deliberations  of  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  the 
church  in  the  United  States.  This  was,  at  the  time,  the 
largest  conciliary  assembly  since  the  Council  of  Trent,  with 
the  exception  of  two  or  three  meetings  of  the  bishops  in 
Rome,  which,  however,  were  not  councils  in  any  proper 
sense  of  the  word. 

Never,  in  the  history  of  the  church  in  this  country,  had 
anything  approached  in  grandeur  the  opening  of  this  synod. 
"  Already,''  said  Father  Ryan,  in  his  eloquent  discourse  at 
the  Council — "  already,  during  these  festive  days,  you  have 
witnessed  the  external  splendor  of  the  church.  You  saw 
her,  on  Sunday  last,  at  the  opening  of  the  Council,  as  the 
king's  daughter, '  in  golden  vesture,  surrounded  with  variety  ' ; 
you  heard  the  rustling  of  her  variegated  garments,  as  the 


The  Second  Ple7iary  Cou7icil  of  Baltimore.     305 

prelates  passed  in  gorgeous  procession  ;  you  heard  the  glo- 
rious music  that  almost  shook  these  massive  walls,  and 
wafted  to  the  throne  of  God  the  profession  of  faith  of  the 
young  church  of  these  States — that  Credo  m  unani  Sanctavi 
CatJiolicmn  et  Apostolicain  Ecclesiam  which,  for  fifteen  cen- 
turies, from  the  Council  of  Nice  to  the  Second  Council  of 
Baltimore,  has  expressed  the  faith  of  her  children." 

The  bishops,  clad  in  splendid  robes,  with  mitred  heads, 
■each  bearing  the  crosier  in  hand,  attended  by  a  throng  of 
priests  and  acolytes,  recalled,  as  they  moved  in  solemn  pro- 
cession through  the  streets  to  the  cathedral,  what  we  read 
•of  the  religious  pageants  of  the  middle  ages. 

The  whole  city  had'  crowded  to  behold  the  glorious  scene. 
The  streets  around  the  cathedral  were  thronged.  Every 
window  and  available  spot,  even  the  house-tops  from  which 
a  view  of  the  procession  could  be  had,  were  filled  with  eager 
spectators,  who  looked  on  in  silent  reverence. 

The  country  had  just  come  forth  from  a  most  terrible 
crisis,  in  which  many  ancient  landmarks  had  been  effaced, 
and  the  very  ship  of  state  had  been  wrenched  from  its 
moorings.  House  had  been  divided  against  house,  and 
brother's  hand  had  been  raised  against  brother.  The  sects 
had  been  torn  asunder,  and  still  lay  in  disorder  and  confu- 
sion, helping  to  widen  the  abyss  which  had  threatened  to 
engulf  the  nation's  life.  Half  the  country  was  waste  and 
•desolate  ;  the  people  crushed,  bowed  beneath  the  double 
weight  of  the  memory  of  the  past,  which  could  no  more 
return,  and  of  the  thought  of  a  future  which  seemed  hope- 
less. Oti  the  other  side,  there  were  the  weariness  and  ex- 
haustion which  follow  a  supreme  effort,  and  the  longing  for 
peace  and  happiness  after  so  much  bloodshed  and  misery. 

All  were  ready  to  applaud  any  power  that  had  been  able 
to  live  through  that  frightful  struggle  unhurt  and  unharmed  ;. 
and  when  the  Catholic  Church  walked  forth  before  the  eyes 


3o6  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

of  the  nation,  clothed  in  the  panoply  of  undiminished  strength 
and  of  unbroken  unity,  thousands,  who  but  a  while  ago  would 
have  witnessed  this  manifestation  of  her  power  with  jealous- 
concern,  now  hailed  it  with  delight  as  a  harbinger  of  good 
omen.  Then  it  must  be  confessed,  too,  that  during  the  war 
men  had  seen  more  of  the  church,  and,  having  learned  to 
know  her  better,  had  come  to  love  her  more.  There  was- 
not  a  village  throughout  the  land  where  some  brave  soldier, 
not  a  Catholic,  was  not  found  to  speak  the  praises  of  her 
heroic  daughters,  who,  whilst  men  fought,  stood  by  to- 
staunch  the  blood. 

The  deliberations  of  the  Council  were  conducted  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  rules  of  parliamentary  debate.  The  mat- 
ters prepared  for  discussion  were  first  submitted  to  particular 
congregations  of  theologians,  each  of  which  was  presided 
over  by  a  bishop. 

The  result  of  these  discussions,  gathered  by  a  notary,  with 
the  votes  and  motives  alleged  for  or  against,  in  case  of 
disagreement,  were  then  transmitted  to  the  bishops,  who  in 
their  private  sessions  occupied  themselves  with  questions 
already  debated  in  the  congregations  of  theologians.  A 
new  examination  was  here  instituted,  a  proces  verbal  of 
which  was  made  by  the  secretaries.  These  preliminary  dis- 
cussions, however,  decided  nothing ;  but  all  was  referred  to 
the  general  congregations,  and  was  finally  promulgated  in  the 
public  sessions  of  the  Council.  And  even  then  the  solemn 
sanction  of  the  Vicar  of  Christ  was  still  wanting.  "  Our 
legislation  is  not  perfect,"  said  Archbishop  Spalding,  in  his 
sermon  before  the  opening  of  the  Council,  "  until  it  has 
received  the  approval  of  him  who  sits  in  the  chair  of  Peter, 
and  who  is  our  chief  executive  ;  just  as  our  acts  of  Congress 
do  not  become  law  until  they  are  approved  by  the  President. 
Hence,  the  conciliary  acts  and  decrees  will  not  be  published 
until  they  will  have  been  confirmed  by  the  Pope.     This  is 


The  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore.     307 

one  among  the  great  conservative  elements  and  principles 
of  our  church,  which  prevents  hasty  or  injudicious  legisla- 
tion, and  secures  uniformity  of  discipline  under  the  guidance 
of  one  visible  head." 

It  is  the  privilege  of  the  church  that,  notwithstanding  her 
fixed  and  immutable  constitution  of  faith,  and,  to  some  ex- 
tent, even  of  discipline,  she  is  yet  able,  without  hurt  either 
to  her  unity  or  her  Catholicity,  to  adapt  herself  to  the  vari- 
ous modifications  of  human  society  with  which  she  is  thrown 
into  contact.  Indeed,  it  seems  that,  precisely  because  she  is 
so  fixed  in  faith  and  in  essential  discipline,  she  can  therefore, 
with  less  danger  in  other  things,  allow  a  certain  liberty 
where  circumstances  demand  it.  The  sects,  in  trying  to  fit 
themselves  to  new  conditions  of  life,  break  into  fragments. 
The  central  life-force  in  them  is  too  feeble  to  resist  the  dis- 
integrating action  of  the  varying  influences  of  nationalism 
or  even  of  sectionalism.  But  the  church  is  not  so  weakly 
built. 

Now,  our  social  condition  is  so  unlike  that  which  is  found 
elsewhere  that  our  church  polity  cannot  be  expected  to  be 
altogether  the  same  as  that  which  in  many  particulars  is  the 
outgrowth  of  circumstances  wholly  dissimilar  from  those  in 
which  we  are  placed.  In  the  essential  organization  of  the 
church  here,  there  is,  of  course,  nothing  different  from  that 
Avhich  exists  elsewhere — the  universal  headship  of  the 
Vicar  of  Christ,  under  him  the  authority  of  the  bishop  in 
his  own  diocese,  extending  over  both  priest  and  people ; 
and  the  mutual  relations  of  these  exist  substantially  here  as 
in  other  parts  of  the  world.  Our  faith  being  Catholic,  all 
those  observances,  disciplinar)-  and  ritualistic,  which  are  but 
the  expression  of  that  faith,  are,  of  course,  binding  upon  us 
as  upon  other  Catholics. 

In  fact,  any  peculiarities  of  discipline  which  may  exist 
here  concern  chiefly  matters  of  detail  and  certain  accidental 


o 


08  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 


relations  of  the  two  orders  of  the  clergy.  I,  of  course,  leave 
out  of  the  question  what  may  be  called  the  public  ecclesias- 
tical law  ;  and,  confining  the  enquiry  within  the  limits  thus 
indicated,  a  careful  study  of  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore  will,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  confirm  this  view  of 
the  subject.  However  this  may  be,  had  the  Fathers  of  that 
Council  done  nothing  more  than  give  a  full  and  methodical 
statement  of  all  previous  ecclesiastical  legislation  in  this 
country,  making,  where  it  seemed  proper,  what  had  been 
particular,  general,  they  would  have  performed  a  great 
work. 

They  have  done  this,  and  much  more.  They  have  given 
us  a  code  of  laws,  which,  indeed,  from  its  very  nature  could 
not  be  either  complete  or  perfect,  but  which  will  serve  as 
the  fixed  and  solid  foundation  upon  which  to  build  what- 
ever superstructure  the  wants  of  the  church  in  this  country 
may  in  future  demand. 

The  whole  tenor  of  the  Second  Plenary  Council  shows  an 
increasing  disposition  in  the  American  prelates  to  conform, 
wherever  it  is  possible,  to  the  general  usage  of  the  church, 
and,  indeed,  to  comply  with  certain  wise  provisions  \vhich, 
even  in  Catholic  countries,  have  been  allowed  to  fall  into 
desuetude. 

They  insist,  for  instance,  that  the  law  of  the  Council  of 
Trent,  which  requires  Provincial  Councils  to  be  held  every 
three  years,  shall  be  observed  in  these  United  States.  And 
in  declaring  what  should  be  the  aim  of  these  synods,  they 
say  : 

"  Wherefore,  let  the  Metropolitans  and  their  suffragans  in 
Council  assembled,  having  consulted  together,  pass  such 
decrees  as,  all  things  considered,  may  seem  to  them  best 
for  protecting  the  doctrines  of  the  church  against  current 
errors,  for  reforming  the  morals  of  the  faithful  to  them  com- 
mitted, and,  in  fine,  for  promoting  uniformity  of  discipline, 


The  Second  Pknaiy  Council  of  Baltimore.     309 

in  accordance  with  the  general  discipline  of  the  Catholic 
Church  as  it  is  laid  down  and  defined  in  the  Pontifical  Con- 
stitutions and  in  the  CEcumenical  Councils."  * 

In  enumerating  the  rights  of  Metropolitans,  too,  they 
evince  a  desire  to  return  to  what,  in  many  other  churches  at 
the  present  day,  is  to  a  great  extent  suffered  to  remain  in 
abeyance.  And  in  the  instruction  of  the  Sacred  Congrega- 
tion, Dc  Decretis  Corrigendis,  the  Holy  See  makes  two  addi- 
tions to  these  rights,  as  stated  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Plenary 
Council,  which  manifest  quite  significantly  the  tendency  of 
our  ecclesiastical  polity. 

*  P.  47,  n.  59 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

SECUND  PLENARY  COUNCIL  OF  BALTIMORE,  CONTINUED — 
APPOINTMENT  OF  BISHOPS — PAROCHIAL  RIGHTS — CATHO- 
LIC   UNIVERSITY. 

HE  establishment  of  the  first  episcopal  see  in  this 
country  was  due  to  the  initiatory  movement  of 
the  priests  of  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  who, 
before  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  had 
been  subject  to  the  Vicar  Apostolic  of  London.  Believing 
that  this  state  of  things  could  not  continue  without  injury 
to  religion,  they  appointed,  shortly  after  the  close  of  the 
war,  a  committee  of  three  to  petition  the  Holy  See  to  erect 
a  bishopric  in  the  United  States,  and  to  give  them  the  pri- 
vilege to  nominate  a  fit  person  for  the  episcopal  office.  This 
request  having  been  granted  by  Rome,  the  clergy  selected 
Father  Carroll  to  fill  the  new  see,  and  their  choice  was  rati- 
fied by  the  Holy  Father. 

The  sees  of  New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  and  Bardstown 
were  created  in  1808,  at  the  instance  of  Bishop  Carroll,  who, 
it  seems,  presented  the  candidates  to  fill  them,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Bishop  Concannen,  who,  I  believe,  was  appointed 
to  New  York  by  the  Holy  See,  proprio  inotu. 

From  this  time,  when  sees  became  vacant  or  the  erection 
of  new  ones  became  necessary,  the  bishops  themselves 
generally  presented  the  candidates,  though,  occasionally, 
when  suitable  persons  were  not  found  here,  the  Holy  See 
selected  some  one  in  Europe,  as  in  the  case  of  Bishop 
England's  appointment. 

In  1834,  the  Congregation  of  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith 
determined  the  manner  in  which  candidates   for  episcopal 


Appointment  of  Bishops.  3 1 1 

sees  in  this  country  should  be  presented,  being  substantially 
that  which  was  already  in  existence. 

Slight  modifications  of  this  law  were  made  by  the  Sacred 
Congregation  in  1850,  in  1856,  and  again  in  1859.  ^"^^ 
since,  to  use  the  words  of  the  Second  Plenary  Council,  it 
•would  seem  that  this  mode  of  election  is  capable  of  being 
■changed  for  the  better,  and  made  still  more  perfect,  the 
archbishops  of  the  United  States  were  asked  by  the  Holy 
See  whether  they  could  propose  any  modifications  which 
would  be  likely  to  secure  greater  success  in  the  choice  of 
bishops.  Their  answer  having  been  received,  the  Sacred 
Congregation  made  certain  additions  to  the  decrees  hitherto 
issued  on  the  subject,  by  which  the  mode  of  presenting  can- 
didates was  still  further  changed. 

The  system  thus  modified,  and  as  found  in  the  Second 
Plenary  Council,  is  substantially  this :  Every  three  years 
each  bishop  sends  to  his  Metropolitan  and  to  the  Congrega- 
tion of  Propaganda  a  list  of  the  priests  whom  he  thinks 
-worthy  of  the  episcopal  office,  accompanied  by  a  detailed 
account  of  the  qualities  which  distinguish  them.  When  a 
see  becomes  vacant,  the  bishops  meet  in  synod  or  in  some 
other  way,  and  discuss  the  merits  of  the  candidates  to  be 
presented  to  fill  it. 

Three  names  are  then  chosen  by  secret  suffrage,  and  are 
sent  to  Rome,  together  with  a  proces  verbal  of  the  proceed- 
ings. From  this  list  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  selects  the  person 
•whom  he  thinks  best  suited  to  the  office.  However,  in  case 
the  person  to  be  chosen  is  to  be  an  archbishop  or  the  co-ad- 
jutor  of  an  archbishop,  all  the  metropolitans  of  the  United 
States  must  be  consulted. 

Archbishop  Spalding  was,  as  I  infer  from  his  correspon- 
dence on  this  subject,  in  favor  of  still  further  modifying  this 
system,  so  as,  in  some  way,  to  give  the  second  order  of  the 
clergy  a  voice  in  the  presentation  of  candidates  for  episcopal 


o 


12  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 


office.  He  would  have  given  the  diocesan  councillors  the' 
right  to  present  a  list  of  names  to  be  sent  to  Rome  with  that 
of  the  bishops.  He  thought  that  the  Episcopal  Council  in 
this  country  should  be  looked  upon  as  a  quasi-chapter,  and 
that  the  giving  them  a  vote  would  bring  us  nearer  the 
general  discipline  of  the  church  in  this  matter.  Indeed,  he 
was  in  favor  of  introducing  the  Canonical  Chapter,  as  an 
element  in  our  church  polity,  whenever  this  could  be  done. 
The  Plenary  Council  does  not  seem,  however,  to  have  en- 
tered upon  the  discussion  of  this  subject. 

Upon  the  question  of  instituting  canonical  parishes  and 
pastors,  Archbishop  Spalding  expressed  his  opinion  in  a 
letter  to  the  Archbishop  of  St.  Louis,  written  before  the 
opening  of  the  Second  Plenary  Council. 

"  While,"  he  says,  "  I  would  favor  the  gradual  creation  of 
parish  priests,  beginning  with  the  large  cities,  and  legislating 
in  that  direction,  also,  for  country  districts,  according  to  the 
plan  of  my  venerable  predecessor  (Synod  Bait.,  1853,  can.  3), 
I  should  with  him  still  maintain  their  movability  ad  judi- 
cium Episcopi ;  and  I  should  deem  it  premature,  and  proba- 
bly disastrous  in  its  consequences,  to  adopt  at  once  the  full 
parochial  system,  for  which  we  are  scarcely  prepared." 

The  legislation  of  the  Second  Plenary  Council  is  substan- 
tially in  accord  with  these  views  ;  for  whilst  the  fathers 
declare  it  to  be  their  desire  that  throughout  the  States, 
especially  in  the  larger  cities,  districts,  with  accurately 
defined  limits,  be  assigned  to  the  churches,  and  that  to 
their  rectors  parochial  or  quasi-parochial  rights  be  given, 
they  yet  affirm  that  they  by  no  means  intend  that  im- 
movability be  considered  as  one  of  these  rights.  The 
bishops,  however,  are  exhorted  not  to  use  their  privileges 
in  this  matter,  except  for  grave  reasons.* 

The  whole  spirit  of  the  legislation  of  the  Second  Baltimore 

*  Vid.  Con.  Plen.  Bait.  II.,  Nos.  124  et  125. 


CatJiolic   University, 


'>    T    ■> 


Council,  as  it  relates  to  this  question  and  that  of  the  appoint- 
ment of  bishops,  both  of  which  are  in  a  measure  vital  to  the 
interests  of  the  church  in  this  country,  breathes  breadth  of 
view  and  enlightened  wisdom. 

As  we  Jiave  seen  from  the  letter  of  Archbishop  Spalding 
to  Bishop  Timon,  quoted  above,  one  of  the  first  subjects,  in 
connection  with  the  Second  Plenary  Council,  which  sug- 
gested itself  to  his  mind  was  the  founding  of  a  Catholic 
university.  The  deep  interest  which  he  took  in  this  pro- 
ject is  also  perceived  from  his  Irish  and  Belgian  correspond- 
ence, in  which  he  seeks  for  information  concerning  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  universities  of  Dublin  and  Louvain.  Among" 
the  questions  which  he  submitted  to  the  Fathers  of  the  Bal- 
timore Council  was  this:  Whether  the  time  had  not  come 
when,  with  the  sanction  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  an  univer- 
sity should  be  founded  in  this  country?  It  was  his  opinion 
that  an  university  would  give  us  greater  means  than  we  had 
hitherto  possessed  for  bringing  the  truths  of  our  faith  before 
the  more  intelligent  class  of  Americans  in  a  manner  which 
could  not  but  arrest  their  attention.  And  now  that  the 
church  is  an  ubiquitous  fact  in  this  country,  he  felt  that  no 
time  should  be  lost,  and  that  we  should  at  once  go  to  work 
to  create  an  American  Catholic  literature,  irreproachable 
both  in  thought  and  style,  which  would  deal  with  all  the 
living  problems  of  the  age,  and  thus  furnish  a  Catholic  solu- 
tion for  the  doubts  by  which  thousands  of  those  outside  the 
church,  who  think,  are  tortured  To  the  attainment  of  this 
end  nothing  would  be  more  likely  to  contribute  than  a  great 
central  seat  of  Catholic  learning,  encircled  by  the  halo  of 
illustrious  names,  to  which  the  eyes  of  Catholics  from  every 
part  of  the  Union  might  turn  with  pride  and  reverence.  It 
is  humiliating  to  consider  how  much  of  what  is  best  in  our 
English  and  American  Catholic  literature  is  the  work  of  mert 
who  were  educated  outside  of  the  church. 


314  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

To  fit  our  young  men  for  the  great  vocation  of  Catholic 
writers,  an  university  education  here  at  home  would  possess 
special  advantages  over  any  that  could  be  had  in  foreign 
•countries. 

The  thorough  knowledge  of  the  general  thought  of  the 
■country,  of  its  peculiar  shades  and  tendencies,  the  familiarity 
with  what  is  best  and  most  worthy  of  study  in  our  own  litera- 
ture, which  a  Catholic  university  education  here  would  give, 
•could  not  be  obtained  in  Europe. 

As  in  helping  to  found  the  American  College  at  Louvain 
Archbishop  Spalding  did  not  think  he  was  doing  anything 
that  could  interfere  with  the  establishment  of  the  Roman 
College,  so  he  did  not  in  the  present  case  believe  that  the 
creation  of  an  university  in  this  country  would  in  any  way 
injure  our  foreign  seminaries.  Nor  did  he  accept  the  opin- 
ion of  those  who  hold  that  an  university  should  not  be 
created,  but  should  grow  into  being  and  form.  This  may 
have  been  the  general  law  of  its  formation  in  a  ruder  and 
more  plastic  state  of  the  social  organism  ;  but  in  our  society, 
in  which  every  interest  is  represented  by  organized  bodies, 
projects  which  are  left  to  work  themselves  out  are  apt  to 
be  crushed  by  coming  into  collision  with  passions  and  pre- 
judices in  league  with  capital,  and  identified  with  special 
interests,  which  are  watched  over  by  jealous  and  vigilant 
corporations.  With  a  primitive  people,  institutions  grow 
up  ;  among  a  highly  cultivated  and  civilized  people,  they  are 
created. 

Besides,  since  public  instruction  intimately  concerns  faith 
and  morals,  and  has  a  direct  influence  upon  the  welfare  and 
peace  of  the  church,  Catholics  have  always  held  that  the 
intervention  of  the  ecclesiastical  authority  is  required  for 
the  founding  of  a  university.  The  history  of  all  the  ancient 
universities,  from  the  thirteenth  century  down  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  University  of  Fulda,  in   1732,  shows  that 


Catholic  University,  315 

this  principle  was  never  lost  sight  of.  The  nineteen  univer- 
•sities  which  came  into  existence  in  the  sixteenth  century 
-were  all  either  founded  or  confirmed  by  the  Holy  See. 
This  historical  fact  is  resumed  in  the  followin":  sentence 
from  the  Brief  by  which  Gregory  XVI.  approved  of  the 
Catholic  University  of  Lovain  :  Celebriores  illustrioresqiie 
EiiropcB  iiniversitates  non  nisi  ex  sententia  et  assensii  Ronia- 
noriun  Pontijiciini  fuisse  constitutas  gravissimce  illarutn  histom 
rice  amplissiine  testantur. 

But  the  time  when  the  great  work  of  founding  a  Cath- 
olic university  in  the  United  States  was  to  be  begun,  had 
not  yet  come,  though  the  Fathers  of  the  Second  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore  express  their  most  ardent  desire  to 
see  such  an  institution  established  here  ;  *  and  their  words 
concerning  the  plan  of  studies  which  should  be  pursued  in 
higher  ecclesiastical  seminaries  plainly  show  the  urgent  want 
•of  a  Catholic  university  in  this  country. 

"  We  have  now  no  longer,"  they  say,  "  to  contend  with 
the  oft-refuted  heresies  and  errors  of  a  bygone  age  ;  but 
with  new  adversaries — unbelievers  of  a  pagan  rather  than  a 
Christian  character;  men  who  account  as  naught  God  and 
his  divine  promises,  but  who  do  not  the  less  possess  culti- 
vated minds.  According  to  them,  the  things  of  heaven  and 
-earth  have  no  other  meaning  or  value  than  that  which  natu- 
ral reason  assigns  them.  Thus  they  flatter  pride,  so  deeply 
rooted  in  our  nature,  and  seduce  those  who  are  not  on  their 
guard.  If  truth  cannot  persuade  them,  since  they  do  not 
care  to  listen,  it  must,  at  least,  close  their  mouths,  lest  their 
vain  discourse  and  sounding  words  delude  the  simple."  f 

It  was  impossible  that,  in  the  two  weeks  to  which  they 

had   limited  their  sittings,  they  should  have  been   able   to 

•decide  upon  all  the  important  matters  which  it  was  proposed 

to  submit  to  them.     Then,  the  urgent  wants  of  the  Ameri- 

*  Con.  Flen.  Bait.  II.,  n.  451.  f  Tit.  iii.  p.  108. 


''  T 6  Life  of  ArcJibish op  Spa Iding. 


o 


can  College  in  Rome  demanded  their  immediate  attention  ; 
and  as  it  was  thought  necessary  that  all  the  bishops  should 
exert  themselves  to  raise  a  very  considerable  sum  of  money, 
that  this  institution  might  be  permanently  endowed,  it  was 
not  deemed  advisable  to  enter  upon  so  vast  an  undertaking 
as  the  founding  of  a  Catholic  university.* 

*  The  idea  of  a  university  is  that  of  an  institution  whose  soul-life  is  the 
.ntercommunion  and  mutual  connection  of  all  the  sciences.  As  the  great 
intellectual  work  in  the  church  in  our  day  is  to  show  that  theology,  which 
is  the  science  of  God's  revelation  as  interpreted  by  the  church,  is  not  only 
not  in  contradiction  with,  but  is  the  essential  and  central  point  of  union  of, 
.he  whole  scientific  group,  it  is  at  once  evident  that  the  mission  of  a  Catho- 
lic universitv  is  of  the  very  first  importance.  Or,  we  may  consider  the  univer- 
sity as  the  crown  of  all  other  institutions  of  learning.  No  general  system 
of  education  can  be  complete  which  does  not  terminate  in  and  receive  its 
complement  from  the  university.  As  Catholics  in  this  country  have  a  sys- 
tem of  education  peculiar  to  themselves  and  different  from  that  which  exists 
around  them,  a  Catholic  university  to  crown  the  edifice  is  of  necessity  de- 
manded. '  I  fear,"  wrote  Bishop  Spalding  to  Archbishop  Kenrick  in  1856, 
"we  shall  never  be  united  in  any  general  object  outside  the  domain  of  faith 
and  morals."  I  may  be  permitted  to  close  these  desultory  remarks  on  a 
subject  than  which  none  should  be  of  more  interest  to  American  Catholics, 
with  a  passage  from  Dr.  Newman  : 

"I  end  a?  I  began.  A  university  is  a  place  of  concourse,  whither  stu- 
dents come  from  every  quarter  for  every  kind  of  knowledge.  You  cannot 
have  the  best  oi  every  kind  everywhere;  you  must  go  to  some  great  city 
or  emporium  for  it.  There  you  have  all  the  choicest  productions  of  nature 
and  art  all  together,  which  you  find  each  in  its  own  separate  place  else- 
where. All  the  riches  of  the  land  and  of  the  world  are  carried  up  thither  ; 
there  are  the  best  markets,  and  there  the  best  workmen.  It  is  the  centre  of 
the  trade,  the  supreme  court  of  fashion,  the  umpire  of  rival  skill,  and  the 
standard  of  things  rare  and  precious.  It  is  the  place  for  seeing  galleries  of 
first-rate  pictures,  and  for  hearing  wonderful  voices  and  miraculous  per- 
formers. It  is  the  place  for  great  preachers,  great  orators,  great  nobles, 
great  statesmen.  In  the  nature  of  things,  greatness  and  unity  go  together  ; 
excellence  implies  a  centre.  Such,  then,  is  a  university.  It  is  the  place  to 
which  a  thousand  schools  make  contributions  ;  in  which  the  intellect  may 
safely  range  and  speculate,  sure  to  find  its  equal  in  some  antagonist  activ- 
ity, and  its  judge  in  the  tribunal  of  truth.      It  is  a  place  where  enquiry  is 


CatJiolic   University.  317 

My  purpose  does  not  lead  me,  for  the  present  at  least,  to 
examine  further  into  the  work  accomplished  by  the  Second 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place,  however,  to  give  an  estimate 
of  the  wisdom  shown  by  the  fathers  of  the  American 
church  in  this  assembly,  as  made  by  a  very  thoughtful 
writer  in  one  of  the  first  Catholic  reviews  in  France  :* 

"  We  are  struck  by  the  wisdom  and  prudence  which 
characterize  the  decrees  of  this  Council.  .  .  .  We  here 
find  evidence  of  that  American  good  sense,  eminently  exact 
and  practical,  which,  in  dealing  with  lofty  things,  seizes 
them  j)rincipall}-  by  their  positive  side,  and  which,  without 
losing  sight  of  principles,  yet  adapts  them  to  times  and 
circumstances.  If  doctrine  is  greatly  represented  in  this 
volume,  mere  speculation  occupies  but  small  space.  Above 
everything  else,  the  Council  has  aimed  to  be  a  work  of 
organization.  Not  less  remarkable  for  what  it  has  not  said 
than  for  what  it  has  said,  it  seems  to  embody  the  device 
of  the  poet:  Semper  ad  cventuni festinat .  No  superfluous 
details,  no  useless  erudition ;  everything  bears  the  seal  of 

pushed  forward,  and  discoveries  verified  and  perfected,  and  rashness  ran 
dered  innocuous,  and  error  exposed,  b}'  the  collision  of  mind  with  mind, 
and  knowledge  with  knowledge.  It  is  the  place  where  the  professor 
becomes  eloquent,  and  a  missionary  and  preacher  of  science,  displaying  it  in 
its  most  complete  and  most  winning  form,  pouring  it  forth  with  the  zeal  of 
enthusiasm,  and  lighting  up  his  own  love  of  it  in  the  breasts  of  his  hearers.  It 
is  the  place  where  the  catechist  makes  good  his  ground  as  he  goes,  treading  in 
the  truth  day  by  day  into  the  ready  memory,  and  wedging  and  tightening  it 
into  the  expanding  reason.  It  is  a  place  which  attracts  the  affections  of 
the  young  by  its  fame,  wins  the  judgment  of  the  middle-aged  by  its  beauty, 
and  rivets  the  memory  of  the  old  by  its  associations.  It  is  a  seat  of  wis- 
dom, a  light  of  the  world,  a  minister  of  the  faith,  an  alma  mater  of  the  rising 
generation.  It  is  this  and  a  great  deal  more,  and  demands  a  somewhat 
better  "head  and  hand  than  mine  to  describe  it  well." — The  Office  and  Work 
of  Universities,  pp.  23-25. 
*  Les  Etudes  Religieuses, 


3i8  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

legislation  soberly  but  firmly  motived,  wherein  nothing  is 
omitted  that  can  enlighten  and  convince  the  mind,  and 
nothing  is  allowed  to  lengthen  what  should  be  short,  or 
complicate  what  is  simple.  It  is  a  majestic  monument  of 
simple  and  severe  proportions,  in  which  art  seems  neg- 
lected, but  is  by  no  means  wanting."  Much  higher  author- 
ity has  also  borne  witness  to  the  great  wisdom  manifested 
in  the  Baltimore  Council. 

"  Many  of  the  fathers  of  the  Vatican  Council,"  says  a 
well-known  writer  in  the  CatJiolic  World,  himself  a  member 
of  that  august  assembly,  "  see,m  well  acquainted  with  our 
Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore.  More  than  once  it 
has  been  referred  to  with  special  commendation,  as  having 
thoroughly  seized  the  character  of  this  modern  age  in  which 
we  live.  And  the  desire  was  expressed  that  its  special 
regulations,  on  one  or  two  points,  for  the  church  in  the 
United  States,  could  be  made  universal  laws  for  the  whole 
church."  * 

Cardinal  Cullen  has  expressed  his  opinion  of  the  Second 
Plenary  Council  in  the  following  letter  to  Archbishop 
Spalding : 

"  When  last  writing,  I  thanked  you  for  the  copy  of  your 
Plenary  Synod,  which  you  so  kindly  sent  me.  Since 
then  I  have  been  able  to  consult  it  frequently,  and  I  find 
that  it  is  a  mine  of  every  sort  of  knowledge  necessary  for  an 
ecclesiastic.  I  congratulate  you  most  warmly  on  your  suc- 
cess in  bringing  out  a  work  which  cannot  fail  to  be  of  the 
greatest  value  to  the  church  of  America,  and,  indeed,  to 
every  other  church." 

The  closing  ceremonies  of  the  Council,  at  which  the 
President  of  the  United  States  assisted,  were  not  less- 
imposing  than  had  been  those  of  its  opening.  Archbishop 
Purcell,  as  the  senior  bishop  by  consecration  of  the  American. 

*  Catholic  IVorld,  April,  1S70,  art.,  "  Vatican  Council." 


Catholic   University.  319 

hierarchy,  deHvered  an  address,  \\\  which  he  thanked  the 
Legate  Apostohc  for  the  "  dignity,  impartiahty,  and  learn- 
ing "  with  which  he  had  presided  over  this  most  important 
CounciL 

In  reply,  Archbishop  Spalding  said  : 

"  What  I  have  just  heard — which  I  know  expresses  the 
feelings  of  all  my  venerable  brethren — compensates  me 
more  than  an  hundredfold  for  whatever  little  labor  I  have 
undergone  in  preparing  for  this  Council.  I  feel  and  say 
from  my  heart  that  I  am  unworthy  of  the  eulogy  which 
the  partiality  of  my  venerable  brother  has  passed  upon  me. 
I  can  lay  claim  only  to  industry  and  earnestness.  The  true- 
secret  of  all  this,  I  am  sure,  is  that  I  am  the  voice  or  the 
shadow  of  him  who  represents  divine  unity  and  authority 
on  this  earth  ;  that  I  am  invested,  however  unworthy,  with 
the  authority  of  Pius  IX.,  through  whose  voice  Peter 
speaks,  and,  through  Peter,  Christ.  Herein  consists  the 
simplicity,  and  the  beauty,  and  the  sublimity  of  our  faith. 
We  are  but  the  last  link  in  a  golden  chain,  the  first  of  which 
was  Peter,  and  he  was  bound  to  the  rock,  which  is  Christ. 
Never  were  the  unity  and  the  unearthly  character  of  the 
church  shown  more  strikingly  than  in  this  Council.  Here 
we  have  venerable  prelates  from  all  parts  of  this  great  and 
vast  Republic,  some  of  whom  have  come  five  or  six  thou- 
sand miles — have  come  at  my  voice,  because  in  my  voice 
they  recognized  the  voice  of  Peter  and  of  Christ.  They 
have  come  together  with  one  heart  and  one  soul,  intent  only 
on  the  great  object  of  beautifying  the  house  of  God,  of 
proclaiming  his  truth  and  his  holiness,  and  of  promoting 
the  salvation  of  men.  All  other  considerations  have  been 
wholly  forgotten.  During  the  two  weeks  of  the  Council, 
while  we  were  in  session  from  six  to  eight  hours  a  day,  not 
one  word  has  been  breathed  on  or  one  allusion  made  to 
the  stirring  and  exciting  topics  of  the  day.     Our  kingdom 


320  Life  of  ArcJibisJiop  Spalding. 

is  not  of  this  world  ;  we  have  higher  aims — glory  to  God  in 
the  hi-ghest,  peace  on  earth  to  men  of  good-will. 

"  We  came  together  to  devise  ways  and  means  to  carry 
out  the  purpose  for  which  Christ  died  on  the  cross — to  save 
men,  to  bind  them  together  in  unity  and  charity,  and  to 
make  them  lead  holy  lives.  Absorbed  in  this  great  object, 
we  have  soared  far  above  the  region  of  storms  and  clouds, 
into  the  pure  atmosphere  of  God,  where  no  controversy  or 
contention  is  stirred  up  by  human  passion  ;  and  men,  sprung 
from  various  nations,  have  in  this  Council  lost  sight  of  all 
differences  of  nationality  and  temperament, 'and  have  been 
blended  into  that  beautiful  unity  and  harmony  which  the 
Catholic  Church  alone  can  exhibit." 

The  fathers  of  the  Second  Plenary  Council  found  that 
the  rapid  growth  of  the  church  justified  them  in  petitioning 
the  Holy  See  to  erect  fifteen  new  dioceses  and  vicariates 
apostolic  in  the  United 'States.  The  decrees  were  sent  to 
Rome,  where  they  were  submitted  to  the  most  thorough 
examination,  and  a  few  slight  corrections,  partly  verbal — 
coserelle,  Father  Perrone  called  them — having  been  made, 
they  received  the  solemn  sanction  of  the  Holy  Father,  and 
became  the  ecclesiastical  law  of  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  PAST,  THE  PRESENT,  AND  THE  FUTURE. 


T  the  close  of  this  last  solemn  gathering  of  the 
American  bishops,  I  may  be  permitted  to  pause 
a  moment,  and  to  consider  whether  the  past  and 
present  condition  of  the  church  in  the  United 
States  may  not  throw  some  light  upon  what  her  future  is 
to  be. 

The  history  of  the  American  church  contains  lessons  of 
the  greatest  value,  not  only  to  ourselves,  but  it  is  also  full 
of  the  deepest  interest  to  Catholics  throughout  the  world. 
It  is  the  opinion  of  many  thoughtful  observers,  both  in  the 
church  and  outside  of  it,  in  this  country  and  abroad,  that 
our  position  with  regard  to  the  state  and  society,  and,  to  a 
certain  extent,  the  mutual  relations  of  the  clergy  and  laity 
as  they  here  exist,  are  destined  to  extend  far  beyond  the 
limits  of  our  own  country,  and  possibly  to  become  universal. 
The  question  is  not  at  all  whether  this  state  of  things  is  the 
best  ;  the  enquiry  turns  upon  facts,  not  upon  principles. 

The  tendency  of  modern  social  movements  is  to  give 
greater  power  and  a  wider  sphere  of  action  to  the  people. 
The  reactions  which  from  time  to  time,  with  varying  suc- 
cess, seek  to  arrest  this  tendency,  only  make  its  force  the 
more  manifest.  The  masses  of  the  people  are  being  edu- 
cated now  as  they  have  never  been  before,  and  the  govern- 
ments of  Christendom,  willingly  or  unwillingly,  are  turning 
their  chief  attention  to  the  helping  on  of  this  educational 
movement.  Universal  suffrage  is  another  form  in  which 
this  tendency  of  the  age  seeks  expression. 


322  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

Again,  the  qualified  independence  of  church  and  state  is^ 
it  would  seem,  destined  to  become  a  feature  in  the  phase  of 
social  existence  upon  which  we  are  entering. 

Now,  men  ask  themselves,  Can  the  old  church  live  in  this 
new  world  which  seems  to  be  growing  up  around  her? 

They  who  lose  sight  of  her  supernatural  character  give, 
for  various  reasons,  a  negative  answer  to  this  question.  The 
old  Protestant  theory,  that  the  church  is  a  political  machine, 
the  creation  of  kings  and  emperors,  beneath  the  shadow  of 
whose  thrones  alone  it  is  capable  of  working  satisfactorily, 
still  has  its  advocates,  though,  intellectually,  they  are  of  little 
importance.  There  are,  nevertheless,  men  who  would  fain 
persuade  themselves  that  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  nine- 
teenth century  is  a  fossil,  whose  lifelessness  only  the  dim 
light  of  the  sanctuary  can  conceal.  Bring  it  out,  they  say, 
into  the  free  atmosphere  of  liberty,  and  into  the  bright 
light  of  universal  intelligence,  and,  like  some  long-buried 
corpse  which  seems  well  preserved  when  first  brought  to 
view,  but  when  exposed  to  the  air  crumbles  to  dust,  it  will 
be  no  more. 

Then,  the  pantheistic  evolutionist  view  of  history,  which 
very  generally  underlies  all  the  non-Catholic  thought  of  the 
day,  gives  to  its  advocates  other  reasons  for  thinking  that 
the  church  of  the  past  cannot  be  that  of  the  future. 

Religious  beliefs  are,  in  their  eyes,  but  the  necessary 
results  of  given  psychical  and  physical  conditions  of  life. 
When  these  conditions  change,  faith  is  modified  ;  when 
they  pass  away,  the  particular  beliefs  to  which  they  gave 
birth  die.  Now,-  they  say,  modern  nations  are  entering 
upon  a  new  era,  socially  and  politically ;  general  causes  are 
evolving  effects  hitherto  unreached  ;  and,  as  the  result  of  all 
this,  the  religious  faith  of  mankind  must  necessarily  undergo 
a  radical  change. 

Many  Catholics,  too,  whilst  anticipating  the  new  order 


The  Past,  the  Present,  and  the  Fiittire.        3? 3 


of  things,  yet  have  unfavorable  forebodings  as  to  what  the 
effect  upon  the  general  prosperity  of  the  church  may  be  ;  for 
God  has  certainly  left  the  worldly  condition  of  the  church 
subject  in  part  to  natural  causes. 

The  church  in  this  country  has  now  for  three-quarters 
of  a  century  been  placed  in  contact  with  the  new  order  of 
things,  and  in  circumstances  admirably  suited  to  test  her  real 
vitality.  And  as  a  sequel  to  the  light  thrown  upon  her 
present  condition  by  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Balti- 
more, it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  examine  briefly  what 
her  progress  has  been,  and  to  consider  whether  it  is  real  or 
merely  apparent.  The  question  whether  or  not  thus  far  we 
have  numerically  lost  more  than  wc  have  gained  is,  in  this 
connection,  altogether  of  minor  importance. 

That,  to  confine  ourselves  to  the  period  in  which  the 
hierarchy  has  been  in  existence  here,  we  have  lost  in  num- 
bers by  very  far  more  than  we  have  gained,  is,  if  I  may 
express  my  opinion,  beyond  all  doubt.*  But  the  causes  of 
this  are  manifest.  They  are  accidental,  have  already  tj'  a 
great  extent  disappeared,  and  must  day  by  day  become 
more  and  more  inactive  ;  so  that  the  number  of  those  who 
arc  here  lost  to  the  faith  is,  in  proportion  to  the  Catholic 
population  of  the  country,  continually  decreasing,  whilst 
the  number  of  converts  each  year  grows  larger. 

The  great  problem  which  we  had  to  solve  was  whether 
or  not  a  vigorous  but  yet  orderly  and  obedient  Catholicity 
could    be    established    in    this    democratic    country,    where 

*  We  may.  I  thirik,  safely  accept  the  opinion  of  Bishop  England,  that, 
during  the  first  twent)'  years  after  the  erection  of  the  see  of  Baltimore, 
though  there  was  an  increase  of  congregations,  yet  there  was  a  vast  total  loss 
of  Catholics  to  the  church.  He  estimated  the  Catholics  of  the  two  Carolinas,  in 
1832,  at  ten  thousand,  whereas  he  thought  fifty  thousand  of  the  entire  popu- 
lation of  the  two  States  were  the  descendants  of  Catholics  ;  and  he  did  not 
thinlv  his  diocese  in  this  respect  an  exception,  though  in  this  he  was  proba- 
bly mistaken. 


324  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding, 

what  are  called  the  principles  of  modern  civilization  had 
found  their  highest  practical  expression. 

The  outlook  was  by  no  means  flattering  to  sanguine 
hopes. 

The  public  sentiment  of  the  country  was  adverse,  and, 
though  Catholics  were  tolerated,  it  was  only  because  their 
toleration  formed  part  of  a  system  which  was  a  necessity, 
and  because  they  were  too  much  despised  to  be  feared. 

In  1785,  when  Dr.  Carroll  submitted  to  the  Propaganda 
a  statement  of  the  condition  of  the  church  in  the  United 
States,  he  computed  the  whole  Catholic  population  at 
twenty-five  thousand.  The  number  of  priests  was  but 
twenty-five.  A  schismatical  spirit  existed  both  among  the 
clergy  and  the  laity. 

"  Every  day,"  says  Dr.  Carroll,  "  furnishes  me  with  new 
reflections,  and  almost  every  day  produces  new  events  to 
alarm  my  conscience  and  excite  fresh  solicitude  at  the 
prospect  before  me.  You  cannot  conceive  the  trouble 
which  I  suffer  already,  and  the  still  greater  which  I  foresee 
from  the  medley  of  clerical  characters,  coming  from  differ- 
ent quarters  and  of  various  educations,  and  seeking  em- 
ployment here.  I  cannot  avoid  employing  some  of  them, 
and  they  begin  soon  to  create  disturbances."  * 

In  New  York,  Boston,  and  Philadelphia,  selfish  and  in- 
subordinate priests,  instead  of  promoting  union  and  charity 
among  the  people,  sowed  the  seeds  of  discord  and  scandal. 
A  deplorable  schism  occurred  in  New  Orleans  in  1805,  and, 
when  the  diocese  was  committed  to  Bishop  Dubourg,  he 
was  without  priests  or  means  to  advance  religion ;  and 
finally,  after  having  encountered  many  difficulties,  he 
retired  to  St.  Louis. 

In  South  Carolina,  the  progress  of  the  church  was  dis- 
turbed by   miserable   dissensions.      In    Charleston,   though 

•  Letter  to  Plowden,  1789. 


The  Past,  the  Prcse?it,  and  the  Future.       325 

the  number  of  Catholics  increased  by  immigration,  yet  all 
real  advance  in  religion  was  prevented  by  these  scandals. 
In  1809,  but  three  Catholics,  it  is  said,  received  the  Easter 
comnumion  in  that  city.  A  small  colony  of  Catholics  from 
Mar\-land  had  settled  in  Georgia  ;  but  the  priest  who  had 
charge  of  them  grew  negligent,  and  finally  apostatized. 

The  ill-regulated  system  of  trusteeism  was  another  source 
of  constant  disturbances,  and  seemed  at  times  to  threaten 
to  disorganize  the  church,  which,  still  in  its  infancy,  had  so 
many  other  enemies  to  contend  with.  The  trustees  not 
unfrequently  sought  to  extend  their  power  over  bishop, 
priest,  and  church.  The  Catholic  laity,  following  the 
example  of  Protestants,  seemed  to  be  upon  the  point  of 
demandine  that  the  administration  of  church  affairs  should 
be  given  into  their  hands,  and  that  the  clergy  should 
become  their  servants,  ready  to  perform  religious  services 
in  the  manner  which  they  should  dictate.  This  evil  contin- 
ued to  be  a  source  of  scandals  and  schisms  for  many  years, 
and  undoubtedly  estranged  great  numbers  from  the  church. 
There  was  also  danger  lest  it  should  serve  as  a  pretext  for 
the  intermeddling  of  the  civil  authority  with  church  pro- 
perty and  other  ecclesiastical  affairs.  Then  a  vast  Catholic 
immigration  began  to  pour  into  a  country  where  the  church 
was  hardly  able  to  struggle  with  the  difficulties  by  which  it 
was  already  surrounded.  It  was,  of  course,  impossible  at 
once  10  provide  for  the  religious  wants  of  this  new  popula- 
tion. These  immigrants  spread  over  the  country,  and  very 
frequently  settled  where  there  was  no  church  and  no  priest. 

In  such  cases,,  they  were  necessarily  deprived  of  the  sacra- 
ments, and  their  children  grew  up  without  religious  instruc- 
tions. The  few  priests  who  were  laboring  on  the  missions 
were  forced  to  confine  their  efforts  chiefly  to  the  cities  and 
principal  towns,  in  which  the  great  body  of  the  Catholics 
lived.     It  is  also  worthy  of  remark,  that  many  of  these  early 


326  Life  of  A  rcJi  b  isJi  op  Spa  I  ding. 

missionaries  spoke  English  very  imperfectly ;  whilst  they 
were  but  little  acquainted  with  the  habits  and  customs  of 
the  people  amongst  whom  they  were  called  to  labor.  Then 
there  was  no  such  thing  as  Catholic  education  ;  and  for  a 
long  time,  the  only  Catholic  schools  which  existed,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  colleges  and  academies,  were  of  the  most 
wretched  kind.  Indeed,  I  think  I  may  be  permitted  to  say 
that  it  is  comparatively  of  recent  date  that  many  thoughtful 
and  observant  minds  in  the  church  of  this  country  have  com- 
prehended the  all-importance  of  Catholic  education.  Other 
agencies,  too,  worked  against  the  progress  of  the  church. 
The  Catholic  immigrants,  who  were  generally  extremely 
poor,  suffered  of  course  many  hardships  and  great  exposure 
to  the  rigors  of  a  climate  which  was  not  their  own.  This 
increased  the  mortality  amongst  them,  and,  in  consequence, 
■numbers  of  orphans,  for  whom  the  church  was  unable  to 
provide,  yearly  fell  into  the  hands  of  Protestants,  to  be 
brought  up  by  them  in  their  own  faith.  We  may  add  to 
this,  that  the  very  people  to  whom,  above  all  others,  the 
church  in  this  country  is  indebted,  met  with  special  diffi- 
culties in  the  accomplishment  of  their  God-given  mission. 
How  this  should  seemingly  have  proved  an  obstacle  to  the 
advance  of  Catholicity  in  the  United  States  is  well  stated 
by  Bishop  England  : 

"  England  has,"  he  says,  "  unfortunately,  too,  well  suc- 
ceeded in  linking  contumely  to  their  name  [the  Irish]  in  all 
her  colonies;  and,  though  the  United  States  have  cast  away 
the  yoke  under  which  she  held  them,  many  other  causes 
combined  to  continue  against  the  Irish  Catholic,  more  or  less 
to  the  present  day,  the  sneer  of  the  supercilious,  the  contempt 
of  the  conceited,  and  the  dull  prosing  of  those  who  imagine 
themselves  wise.  That  which  more  than  a  century  of  fashion 
has  made  habitual  is  not  to  be  overcome  in  a  year ;  and  to 
.any  Irish  Catholic  who  has  dwelt  in  this  country  during  one- 


The  Past,  the  P7'esent,  and  the  Future.     327 

fourth  of  the  period  of  my  sojourn,  it  will  be  painfully  evi- 
dent that,  although  the  evil  is  slowly  diminishing,  its  influ- 
ence is  not  confined  to  the  American  nor  to  the  anti-Catho- 
lic. When  a  race  is  once  degraded,  however  unjustly,  it  is 
a  weakness  of  our  nature  that,  however  we  may  be  identi- 
fied with  them  upon  some  points,  we  are  desirous  of  showing 
that  the  similitude  is  not  complete.  You  may  be  an  Irish- 
man, but  not  a  Catholic ;  you  may  be  Catholic,  but  not 
Irish.  It  is  clear  you  arc  not  an  Irish  Catholic  in  either 
•case  !  I !  But  when  the  great  majority  of  Catholics  in  the 
United  States  were  either  Irish  or  of  Irish  descent,  the  force 
<if  the  prejudice  against  the  Irish  Catholic  bore  against  the 
Catholic  religion  in  the  United  States  ;  and  the  influence  of 
this  prejudice  has  been  far  more  mischievous  than  is  gener- 
.dly  believed."*  Another  source  of  trouble  was  the  min- 
gline  of  the  various  nationalities  in  the  same  congregation, 
where  the  prejudices  and  differences  of  custom  and  language 
of  each  became  causes  of  antagonism  and  frequently  of  dis- 
sensions. This  was  a  serious  evil  at  a  time  when  the  church 
was  strueelino:  for  a  foothold  on  the  American  soil.  Then 
the  priests  themselves  belonged  to  four  or  five  different 
nationalities,  had  been  educated  in  various  parts  of  the 
world,  and  hence  upon  many  non-essential  points  did  not 
think  alike.  The  ecclesiastical  organization  was  imperfect ; 
the  five  or  six  bishops  of  the  country,  separated  by  great 
distances,  rarely  saw  one  another;  and  the  individual  pecu- 
liarities of  the  priests  were  frequently  not  restrained  or  con- 
trolled by  a  strong  central  government. 

All  these  difficulties  may  be  said  to  have  belonged  within 
the  church  of  this  country,  since  they  proceeded  chiefly  from 
the  peculiar  elements  of  which  the  Catholic  population  was 
composed.  But  she  had  to  contend  against  other  trials  of 
a  scarcely  less  serious   nature.      Contempt,  and  ignominy, 

*  Bishop  England's  Works,  vol.  iii.  p.  233. 


328  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

and  disgrace  were  coupled  with  the  very  name  of  Cathoh'c 
wherever  English  rule  had  been  supreme.     Catholics  were 

"  A  fixed  figure  for  the  hand  of  scorn 
To  point  its  slowly  moving  finger  at." 

Men  thought  better  of  Turks  and  Jews  than  of  us;  and  the 
Sultan,  in  their  eyes,  was  not  so  hateful  as  the  Pope.  If  we 
were  tolerated,  it  was,  as  I  have  said  elsewhere,  the  tolera- 
tion of  contempt. 

If  the  church  was  to  triumph  over  all  these  obstacles,  it 
could  only  be  by  her  own  innate  power  and  vitality.  She 
had  nothing  but  God's  promise.  The  test  could  not  have 
been  more  fairly  made.  Even  her  worst  enemies  could 
scarcely  have  asked  other  conditions  than  those  which  were 
given  her. 

Three-quarters  of  a  centurv  have  hardly  passed  away 
since  the  hierarchy  was  established  here,  and  the  issue  of 
the  struggle  is  now  no  longer  doubtful. 

The  church  in  that  time  has  gone  steadily  forward,  and 
her  progress  has  become,  day  by  day,  more  real  and  more 
certain.  She  has  conquered  the  elements  of  discord  and 
disturbance  which  threatened  her  young  life,  and  to-day 
she  is  the  most  thoroughly  organized  and  most  perfectly 
united  body  in  all  this  great  country.  And  perhaps,  though 
it  may  not  be  modest  to  say  it,  there  cannot  be  found  a  body 
of  Catholics  more  zealous  for  the  faith,  more  self-sacrificing^ 
more  loyal  to  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  than  the  seven  millions  of 
the  United  States. 

Whilst  freedom  has  acted  as  a  solvent  upon  the  various 
sects,  which  have  divided  and  subdivided,  it  has  only  knit  us 
closer  together  in  the  bonds  of  an  unconstrained  union. 
Protestantism  has  been  pulled  hither  and  thither  by  all  the 
to-and-fro  conflicting  opinions  which  spring  from  the  teem- 
ing mind  of  our  age  and  country,  until  it  is  a  mere  shred, 


The  Past,   tJie  Present,  and  the  Futiire.     329 

mere  individualism — nihilism.  It  has  lost  control  of  the 
masses,  and  has  only  a  sickly  and  sporadic  existence  in  cater- 
ing to  the  morbid  sentimentalism  of  the  effeminate  rich.  So 
hopeless  ha\-c  its  divisions  become  that  it  has  ceased  to 
believe  in  truth,  and  proclaims  that  the  nearest  approach  to 
it  is  to  be  sought  in  the  conflict  of  opposing  beliefs.  Having 
despaired  of  religious  unity,  it  calls  it  an  evil,  and  declares 
that  it  is  better  that  Christians  should  be  divided.  Unable 
to  formulate  a  single  article  of  belief,  it  repudiates  the  very- 
idea  of  a  creed. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  confusion,  the  Catholic  Church 
remains  undisturbed.  The  idle  theories  of  men  strike  against 
her  and  fall  hurtless  at  her  feet. 

Archbishop  Spalding,  in  his  day,  may  be  considered  the 
best  and  truest  representative  of  the  oldest  element  in  the 
church  in  this  country — that  of  the  Maryland  colony,  which 
is,  I  may  say,  coeval  with  Anglo-Saxon  civilization  in  North 
America.  The  Puritans  came  with  characters  cast  in  an 
iron  mould,  fixed  in  thought,  firm  in  purpose,  and  with  a 
will  intense  in  proportion  to  the  narrowness  of  the  type  they 
represented  ;  the  whole  permeated  and  knit  together  by  a 
religious  enthusiasm  which  gave  color  and  form  to  all  they 
thought  or  did.  And  yet  their  religion  is  dead — their  strong 
and  manly  faith  has  become  in  their  descendants  a  vague 
and  shifting  deism,  or  the  sickly  sentimentalism  of  weak  and 
nerve-worn  natures.  Puritanism,  with  its  immense  force 
and  power  of  resistance,  has  been  unable  to  withstand  the 
action  of  time  and  of  freedom.  The  children  of  the  Catho- 
lics who  came  over  with  Lord  Baltimore  are  to-day  in 
religion  precisely  what  their  fathers  were.  They  hear  Mass, 
they  confess  their  sins,  they  fast,  they  pray  to  the  Blessed 
Virgin  and  to  all  the  saints,  they  love  and  obey  the  Pope,, 
and  believe  in  One  Holy  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church- 
Voltaire  and  the  Encyclopsdists-have  sneered,  and  mocked^ 


-^^o  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 


oo 


and  laughed.  The  German  pantheists  have,  as  they  think, 
probed  to  the  core,  being  and  existence,  and  have  shown 
that  all  reposes  on  nothing ;  that  in  the  beginning  was 
nothing,  and  that  the  end  of  each  particular  existence  is 
nothing,  and  that  whatever  is,  is  only  a  phase  of  something 
that  can  never  be.  The  scientists,  following  in  their  wake, 
despairing  of  the  soul,  have  clutched  matter,  even  in  its 
nascent  and  evolutionary  state,  and  have  followed  it  through 
all  the  vagaries  of  form  and  life,  from  the  infinitesimal  to 
the  infinite.  Putting  God  and  the  soul  aside,  with  the  most 
reverential  and  religious  air,  as  the  unknowable,  because  they 
can  neither  be  seen  nor  touched,  they  proceed,  with  perfect 
self-complacency,  to  create  the  universe. 

In  the  beginning  was  incandescent  gas.  In  time,  a  por- 
tion was  precipitated  and  began  to  whirl  about  most  furi- 
ously, and  other  particles  were  caught  up  by  it,  and  thus 
were  formed  the  sun,  and  stars,  and  planets.  This  is  very 
easily  understood,  since  we  know  bodies  move  along  the 
line  of  least  resistance.*  But  as  yet  there  was  no  life  ;  only 
a  most  desperate  struggle  for  life.  At  length  a  few  inani- 
mate particles  of  matter,  having  won  the  victory,  organized 
and  formed  a  corporation  for  life,  under  the  express  agree- 
ment that  this  corporation  should  evolve  itself  until  all 
other  possible  forms  and  conditions  of  life  should  be  involved 
in  it.  In  other  words,  it  was  understood  that  it  should  be 
as  voracious  and  heartless  as  a  railroad  or  bank  corporation. 
Here  we  have  a  clear  and  satisfactory  explanation  of  the 
genesis  and  transformation  of  species,  so  that,  in  case  we 
should  not  feel  disposed  to  believe  that  God  created  man, 
we  can  become  scientifically  superstitious,  and  hold  that 
this  contentious,  restless,  unsatisfied  little  animal  came  of  a 
particular  fight  which  took  place  several  million  years  ago 
in  primordial  matter,  and  that  all  things,  having  begun  in 
*  See  Herbert  Spencer's  First  Principles,  p.  204. 


The  Past,   the  Present,  and  the  Future.     331 

incandescent  gas,  are  likely  to  end  in  smoke.  But  to  be 
serious  :  in  the  science  of  matter,  our  age  has  made  the 
most  real  progress.  Everything  has  been  analyzed,  every 
form  of  matter  has  been  peered  into  by  the  patient  and 
laborious  eye  of  the  student.  The  secret  places  of  the  earlli 
have  been  laid  open,  the  "dark,  unfathomed  caves  of  ocean" 
have  been  made  to  tell  their  tale,  and  we  have  learned  to 
read  and  to  understand  in  the  earth,  in  the  rocks,  and  in  the 
.air  a  language  which  to  our  fathers  was  meaningless.  The 
practical  applications  of  our  knowledge  have  given  us  the 
means  of  still  further  discovery.  Whatever  anywhere  is 
worth  knowing  may  now  be  known  everywhere.  The  con- 
tinents have  been  crossed,  the  islands  have  been  visited,  the 
rivers  have  been  traced  to  their  sources.  Man  has  been 
studied  in  every  phase  of  his  life.  The  body  has  beer 
scrutinized  from  the  inception  of  its  existence  down  to  the 
last  stage  of  decomposition,  and  the  attempt  has  even  been 
made  to  express  life  by  a  chemical  formula — so  man}'  parti- 
ticles  of  nitrogen,  oxygen,  hydrogen,  and  carbon.  Or,  to 
use  the  profound  language  of  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer,  "  ani- 
mal life  is  chiefly  a  process  of  oxidation  "  ;  *  and  so  is  the 
rusting  of  iron. 

The  influences  that  modify  human  existence,  such  as 
climate,  laws,  religion,  have  been  subjected  to  the  pitiless 
scrutiny  of  science  ;  spectrum  analysis  has  even  shown  us 
the  metals  which  are  found  in  the  sun's  photosphere.  And 
now,  what  has  been  the  effect  of  all  this  upon  the  religious 
belief  of  the  peoples  among  whom  this  scientific  develop- 
..ment  has  taken  place  ? 

Protestants  are  tortured  by  doubt  and  anxiety.  The  pre- 
dominant tendency  with  them  is  towards  deism  or  a  still 
more  absolute  negation  of  religious  truth.  A  counter- 
current,  but  not  so  strong  or  so  marked,  is  bearing  numbers 

*  First  Principles,  p.  20o 


Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 


nearer  to  the  church.  Protestant  thought  has  become  abso- 
lutely chaotic.  Hoenighaus  wrote  a  book,  in  which  he  proved 
every  Catholic  dogma  from  the  confessions  of  respectable 
Protestants.  To-day  a  work  might  be  readily  composed, 
which,  without  going  beyond  the  admissions  of  the  leading 
and  accredited  exponents  of  Protestantism,  would  infer  the 
negation  of  every  dogma  of  religion.  It  is  this  hesitating, 
negative,  self-contradictory  nature  of  Protestant  thought 
which  has  made  what  is  called  scientific  infidelity  so  loud- 
mouthed, and  led  its  devotees  to  believe  that  they  can 
browbeat  Christians  into  atheism. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  what  impression  have  the  intel- 
lectual and  scientific  achievements  of  which  we  boast  made 
upon  the  church  ?  Are  Catholics  tortured  by  doubt  ?  Does 
a  secret  and  ominous  fear  pervade  the  Catholic  thought  of 
the  age,  lest,  perchance,  science  may  have  undermined  the 
foundations  of  the  church  ?  Has  a  rationalistic  and  scepti- 
cal spirit  found  its  way  into  her  sanctuary  ? 

Her  children  have,  at  least,  followed  the  march  of  science, 
and  have  taken  note  of  its  conclusions  Is  their  faith 
shaken  ?  No  candid  and  thoughtful  observer  will  give  an 
affirmative  answer  to  these  questions. 

"  Many  a  vanished  j-ear  and  age, 
And  tempest's  breath,  and  battle's  rage 
Have  swept  o'er  Corinth  ;  3'et  she  stands. 

The  whirlwind's  wrath,  the  earthquake's  shock. 
Have  left  untouched  her  hoary  rock, 

The  landmark  to  the  double  tide, 

That  purpling  rolls  on  either  side, 

As  if  their  waters  chafed  to  meet, 

Yet  pause  and  crouch  beneath  her  feet."  ^ 

"  Our  great  antagonist — I  speak  as  a  man  of  science — ** 
says  Professor  Huxley,  "the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  the 


The  Past,  the  Preseiit,   and  the  Future.     '^'^'<, 

one  great  spiritual  organization  which  is  able  to  resist,  and 
must,  as  a  matter  of  life  and  death,  resist,  the  progress  of 
science  and  modern  civilization,  manages  her  affairs  much 
better."  * 

The  church  is  able  to  resist  the  progress  of  science,  the 
Professor  thinks,  because  science  has  been  unable  to  find  a 
weak  point  in  the  citadel  in  which  God  has  placed  her  ;  or, 
possibly,  because  she  is  not  frightened  when  Mr.  Darwin 
writes  a  new  book,  or  Mr.  Tyndall  proposes  to  test  the 
medicinal  properties  of  prayer. 

The  tendency  of  science  must  necessarily  be  to  strength- 
en the  faith  of  men  in  the  universality  of  law,  of  method, 
and  of  purpose  ;  and,  consequently,  in  the  existence  of  an 
ever-present,  all-wise,  beneficent  Being.  Now,  as  long  as 
men  continue  to  believe  in  God,  they  will  believe  in  Chris- 
tianity, which  finds  its  full  and  legitimate  expression  in  the 
Catholic  Church  alone.  Thus  far,  at  least,  she  has  seen  no 
reason  to  reverse  the  sentence  which  Julian  the  Apostate,  as 
he  took  in  his  hand  his  heart's  blood  and  cast  it  against 
heaven,  spoke  with  dying  lips:  ''Jesus  of  Nazareth,  thou 
hast  conquered." 

After  all,  what  is  called  science  can  never  draw  an  abso- 
lute conclusion  ;  it  can  deal  only  with  relations,  and  with 
these  merely  in  their  physical  manifestations.  Its  mate- 
'  rial  hand  can  never  grasp  the  life  of  the  soul  in  itself  and  in 
God  ;  and  its  influence  upon  faith  must  come  rather  from 
its  practical  applications  and  discoveries  than  from  any 
principles  which  it  is  able  to  establish.  Now,  in  no  country 
in  the  world  have  the  results  of  science  been  applied  so  gen- 
erally or  with  such  success  as  in  ours. 

What  has  been  the  effect  upon  Catholic  faith  ?  The 
children  of  the  church,  untainted  by  popular  unbelief, 
gather  around  her  in  serried  ranks,  and  hold  out  to  her  the 

*  Lay  Sertnons,  p.  6l. 


334  L'^fo  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

helping  hands  of  sympathy  and  love.  Any  danger  that 
might  once  have  seemed  imminent  of  the  alienation  of  the 
laity  from  the  clergy  has  passed  away,  and  to-day  in  no 
country  in  the  world  are  priest  and  people  more  trul)^ 
united  than  here.  Parochial  schools,  in  charge  of  Catholic 
Brothers  and  Sisters,  are  everywhere  springing  up,  and  the 
number  of  children  who  receive  thorough  religious  training 
is  }'early  becoming  larger  in  a  ratio  far  greater  than  that  of 
the  increase  of  the  Catholic  population.  In  some  dioceses^ 
indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  already  Catholic  children  are 
educated  in  Catholic  schools. 

When  we  educate  our  own  children,  we  may  safely  for 
the  rest  leave  the  issue  of  our  cause  to  God.  The  number 
of  orphans  who  are  lost  to  the  church  is  diminishing  in  pro- 
portion to  the  increase  of  Catholic  protectories,  industrial 
schools,  and  asylums.  What  has  hitherto  been  the  chief 
obstacle  to  the  progress  of  the  church — the  want  of  priests 
— has,  in  a  great  measure,  ceased  to  be.  At  the  close  of  the 
W^ar  of  Independence,  there  were  not  more  than  twenty- 
five  priests  in  the  United  States.  In  1800,  there  were  sup- 
posed to  be  forty.  In  1 830,  there  were  two  hundred  and 
thirty-two  priests  in  the  Republic,  and  some  of  these  had 
been  gained  by  the  cession  of  Louisiana  to  the  United 
States.  In  1848,  there  were  eight  hundred  and  ninety.  In 
1861,  the  number  had  grown  to  two  thousand  three  hun- 
dred and  seventeen;  and  in  1872,  to  four  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  nine.  The  increase  in  the  number  of  churches 
has  kept  pace  with  that  of  the  priesthood.  There  can  be 
but  little  doubt  that,  by  the  end  of  this  century,  we  shall 
have  the  most  numerous  episcopate,  and  one  of  the  most 
numerous  bodies  of  priests,  of  any  country  in  the  world.  In 
1808,  there  was  but  a  single  bishop  in  the  United  States; 
to-day,  there  are  sixty-five  dioceses  and  vicariates  apostolic 
within  its  limits.     In   1800,  there  were  but  two  convents  in 


The  Past,   the  Present,  and  the  Future.     335. 

the  United  States;  to-day,  there  are  over  three  hundred 
and  fifty  female  rehgious  institutions,  and  probably  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  for  men.* 

As  above  stated,  Dr.  Carroll,  in  1785,  reckoned  the  Catho- 
lic population  of  this  country  at  twenty-five  thousand. 

"  Upon  my  first  arrival  in  the  United  States,  in  1820," 
says  Bishop  England,  "  I  saw  in  a  public  document,  coming 
from  a  respectable  source,  the  estimate  to  be  one  hundred 
thousand,  and  this  favorable,  and  from  a  gentleman  by  no 
means  unfriendly."  f  In  1832,  he  estimated  the  Catholic 
population  of  the  country  at  half  a  million.  "  I  have  since 
then,"  he  writes  in  1836,  "made  more  close  enquiries,  taken 
more  special  notice  of  details,  and  received  better  informa- 
tion ;  and  I  think  the  estimate  may  be  safely  fixed  at  one 
million  two  hundred  thousand."  %  Within  the  last  thirty 
years,  opinions  widel)^  differing  have  at  various  times  been 
advanced  as  to  our  Catholic  population  ;  and  it  is  to  be 
much  regretted  that  in  this  matter,  which  is  of  the  greatest 
interest,  we  are  still  to  such  an  extent  left  to  mere  conjec- 
ture. However,  from  the  data  which  we  have,  we  are  pro- 
bably not  unwarranted  in  the  statement  that  there  are  at 
present  in  the  United  States  not  less  than  seven  millions  of 
Catholics.  The  influence  of  the  church  upon  non-Catholics 
is  also  constantly  increasing,  if  we  may  be  allowed  to  judge 
from  the  number  of  conversions.  In  a  letter  dated  Febru- 
ary 19,  1868,  Archbishop  Spalding  writes:  "The  precise 
number  of  converts  whom  I  have  confirmed  since  the  fall  of 
1864— that  is,  in  less  than  three  years  and  a  half— is  fourteen 
hundred  and  thirteen  !  The  total  number  confirmed  in  the 
same  period   is  eleven  thousand   four  hundred  and  eighty- 

*I  of  course  do  not  include  in  this  estimate  Catholic  colleges  and  acade- 
mies. 

■j-  Works,  vol.  iii.  p.  227, 
X  Works,  ibid. 


Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

two  ;  consequently,  over  twelve  per  cent,  of  those  confirmed 
were  converts."  * 

The  proportion  of  converts  in  the  diocese  of  Louisville 
was  but  little  below  that  just  given  for  Maryland.  What 
the  proportion  may  be  elsewhere,  I  have  no  means  of  ascer- 
taining;  but,  unless  we  are  to  consider  these  two  dioceses 
in  this  respect  exceptional,  it  is  evident  that  these  accessions 
to  the  church  form  one  of  the  most  important  elements  of 
her  strength,  besides  proving,  in  a  way  which  does  not  admit 
of  reply,  that  between  her  and  what  the  best  and  noblest  in 
this  great  nation  would  aspire  to  there  is  no  opposition. 
The  question  whether  or  not  the  Catholic  Church,  unaided 
by  the  state  and  opposed  by  popular  prejudice,  with  nothing 
but  common  rights  under  the  common  law,  can  maintain 
herself  and  wax  strong  under  a  free  government,  in  which 
the  most  advanced  modern  principles,  as  Americans  under- 
stand them,  have  been  reduced  to  practice,  is  not  now,  if  it 
ever  was,  doubtful. 

*  In  five  years,  he  confirmed  22,209  persons,  of  whom  2,752  wercconverts — 
about  123^  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

THE  EMANCIPATED  SLAVES — THE  CATHOLIC  PUBLICATION 
SOCIETY — THE  CENTENARY  OF  THE  MARTYRDOM  OF  ST. 
PETER. 

N  the  spring  of  1867,  Archbishop  Spalding  visited 
Europe  for  the  first  time  in  fifteen  years.  The 
Holy  Father  had  invited  the  bishops  of  the 
Catholic  world  to  be  present  at  the  centenary 
celebration  of  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Peter,  and,  as  his  health 
was  not  good,  he  determined  not  to  deny  himself  the  plea- 
sure of  visiting,  possibly  for  the  last  time,  the  shrines  of 
the  apostles. 

In  making  the  necessary  preparations  for  leaving  home, 
he  overworked  himself,  and  was,  in  consequence,  taken  dan- 
gerously ill.  For  several  days,  his  physicians  thought  he 
could  not  recover,  and,  indeed,  he  seemed  to  be  just  hover- 
ing between  life  and  death.  The  announcement  of  his  illness 
drew  forth  expressions  of  sympathy,  which  proved  how 
warmly  he  was  beloved,  not  only  by  his  own  people,  but  by 
thousands  of  Catholics  everywhere,  and  even  Protestants. 
The  enterprising  press  had  already  received  intelligence  of 
his  death,  and,  on  the  day  on  which  he  sailed  for  Europe,  he 
had  the  unusual  pleasure  of  reading  his  own  obituary. 

In  the  pastoral  letter  which  he  addressed  to  his  people 
before  leaving  home,  he  alludes  to  this  illness,  which  came 
upon  him  whilst  engaged  in  writing  it. 

"  We  had  proceeded  thus  far,"  he  says,  "  when,  in  the 
mysterious  providence  of  God,  we  were  stricken  down  by  an 
illness  which  warned  us  to  prepare  for  a  longer  journey  ;  and 
though  God  gave  us,  we  humbly  trust,  a  suitable  measure 


T,;^S  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 


of  resignation,  yet  he  was  pleased  to  listen  to  the  prayers 
of  our  faithful  people,  and  to  grant  us  a  longer  tenure  of 
life.  What  was  refused  to  our  great  patron  of  Tours  and 
his  disciples  was  granted  to  us,  who  had  but  begun  our 
career,  had  done  well-nigh  nothing,  and  were  not  prepared 
to  die.  Coming  up  from  the  brink  of  the  tomb,  with,  we 
trust,  a  deeper  sense  of  our  responsibility  and  clearer  lights 
as  to  the  duties  we  owe  to  the  flock  committed  to  our 
charge,  we  now  address  to  you  before  leaving  the  few  but 
grave  reflections  on  three  points  of  vital  importance  to  the 
interests  of  religion  in  the  archdiocese,  which  we  had  in  our 
minds  and  hearts  in  beginning  this  pastoral." 

The  three  subjects  to  which  he  alludes  are  the  instruction 
of  the  emancipated  slaves,  the  Catholic  Publication  Society, 
and  the  St.  Mary's  Industrial  School.  One  of  the  first  things 
he  had  done  after  his  arrival  in  Baltimore  was  to  give  his- 
hearty  approval  to  the  work  which  Dr.  O'Connor  was  doing 
in  seeking  to  build  up  a  negro  congregation  in  that  city. 

"There  is  no  respect  of  persons,"  he  said,  "with  God, 
True  to  the  spirit  of  this  maxim,  the  Holy  Catholic  Church 
has  never  known  any  distinction  of  color  or  race  in  her 
heavenly  ministrations  for  the  salvation  of  all  whom  Christ, 
her  divine  founder,  has  redeemed." 

We  have  already  seen  how  anxious  he  was  that  the 
Second  Plenary  Council  should  devise  some  practical  means 
for  bringing  the  emancipated  slaves  within  the  influence  of 
the  church.  He  now  urges  the  pastors  of  his  archdiocese  to 
put  forth  every  effort  of  enlightened  zeal  to  secure  to  them 
the  blessing  of  Christian  instruction.  He  desires  that  sepa- 
rate schools  be  established  for  them  ;  "  since,"  he  says, 
"  experience  proves  how  difficult  it  is  to  impart  religious 
instruction  to  those  who  cannot  read."  He  wishes  also  to 
see  more  churches  built  for  their  use,  especially  in  the  cities- 
where  they  are  most  needed. 


The  Emancipated  Slaves.  '  359 

"  We  must  say,"  he  continues,  "  to  the  credit  of  our  col- 
ored children,  that  they  have  been  invariably  liberal  and 
generous,  in  proportion  to  their  means,  in  aiding  in  the 
establishment  of  schools  and  churches  for  their  benefit. 
This  has  been  abundantly  proved  in  the  case  of  a  church  in 
Washington,  and  of  six  or  seven  colored  schools  which  have 
been  recently  established  in  the  archdiocese.  The  pastors 
who  will  determine  to  labor  zealously  in  their  behalf  will 
always  find  them  willing  co-operators." 

He  still  further  shows  his  interest  in  this  matter  by  mani- 
festing his  intention  to  organize  a  regular  system  of  missions 
for  the  special  advantage  of  this  portion  of  his  flock — a  pro- 
ject which  he  afterwards  succeeded  in  putting  into  execu- 
tion. Indeed,  to  the  end  of  his  life  the  spiritual  welfare  of 
his  colored  children,  as  he  called  them,  was  one  of  the  things 
nearest  his  heart. 

In  the  fall  of  1870,  he  invited  all  the  white  Catholic 
societies  of  Baltimore  to  assist  at  the  laying  of  the  cornet- 
stone  of  St.  Francis'  School  and  Orphan  Asylum  for  colored 
children  ;  and  when,  at  his  request,  they  had  all  joined  in 
the  procession  and  ceremonies  he  spoke  to  them,  in  the  fol- 
lowing- words,  which  are  so  characteristic  of  his  warm  and 
gentle  nature  : 

"  My  dearly  beloved  Children:  My  heart  bounds  with 
joy  on  this  happy  occasion,  and  my  heart  but  re-echoes  the 
voice  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church.  The  Catholic  Church  is 
of  all  nations,  of  all  colors,  of  all  peoples  !  There  is  no 
distinction  of  color  with  God,  and  there  is  none  with  the 
Catholic  Church.  Forty  years  ago,  when  I  was  a  student  at 
Rome,  there  were  two  colored  students  in  the  same  college 
with  myself,  and  one  of  them  was  my  particular  friend. 
The  Catholic  Church  makes  no  distinction  among  its  chil- 
dren ;  and  I  rejoice  to  see  Germans,  and  Irish,  and  Ameri- 
cans here  to-day,  carrying,  out  the  true  spirit  of  the  church. 


340  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

.  .  .  There  are  no  parties  in  heaven.  I  want  all  my 
children — Irish,  German,  American,  African — I  want  them 
all  to  go  to  heaven ;  and  I  trust  that  all  those  who  are  not 
yet  on  the  road  to  that  happy  place  will  put  themselves  on 
the  right  path.  There  are  many  good  people  outside  of  our 
church,  and  I  want  them  all  to  go  to  heaven." 

Several  years  previous  to  this,  at  the  request  of  Arch- 
bishop Spalding,  two  missionaries  had  been  sent  to  this 
country  by  the  Holy  See,  to  devote  themselves  exclusively 
to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  emancipated  slaves ;  and 
their  labors  had  been  crowned  with  great  success. 

The  fathers  of  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore 
invite,  in  the  name  of  God's  mercy,  all  priests  who  may  be 
able  to  do  so  to  devote  themselves  wholly  to  this  great 
work ;  and  they  also  beg  of  the  Superiors  of  religious 
orders  to  place  some  of  their  members  at  the  disposal  of 
the  bishops,  that  they  may  assign  them  to  the  mission  of 
evangelizing  the  liberated  slaves  of  the  Southern  States.* 

The  chief  difficulty  which  prevented  the  success  of  this 
work  was  the  dearth  of  priests,  especially  in  those  States 
which  had  large  negro  populations. 

In  1870,  Pius  IX.  directed  the  priests  of  St.  Joseph's 
Society  for  Foreign  Missions — a  community  established  by 
the  Rev.  Herbert  Vaughan,  at  Mill  Hill,  near  London — to 
devote  themselves  to  the  work  of  evangelizing  the  emanci- 
pated slaves  in  the  United  States. 

Having  communicated  this  fact  to  Archbishop  Spalding, 
Dr.  Vaughan  received  from  him  the  following  reply : 

"  Your  letter  has  filled  my  heart  with  joy.  I  was  quite 
ill  when  I  received  it,  but  it  contributed  greatly  to  my  con- 
valescence, and  I  am  now  nearly  well.  Please  come  at  once 
to  examine  the  ground  and  to  make  all  necessary  arrange- 
ments for  the  new  colony. 

*   Con.  Plen.  Secund.,  No.  488. 


The  Emancipated  Slaves. "  341 

"As  Baltimore  is  the  natural  and  most  appropriate  point 
for  the  mother-house  of  an}-  institution  for  the  benefit  of 
the  colored  people,  whence  it  may  send  forth  branches 
throughout  the  entire  South,  you  should,  I  think,  begin 
here. 

"  In  three  counties  of  Maryland,  there  are  sixteen  thou- 
sand Catholic  negroes.  .  .  .  You  have  here  a  field  of 
actitin  already  prepared.  ...  I  have  some  sixty  acres 
of  good  land  whi.ch  I  propose  to  give  you,  with  an  ample 
house,  which,  with  some  repairs,  might  well  suit  for  an 
humble  beginning  ;  and  in  such  works,  God  blesses  hum- 
ble beginnings." 

When,  in  response  to  this  invitation.  Dr.  Vaughan,  accom- 
panied by  four  missionaries,  arrived  in  Baltimore,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1871,  just  two  months  before  Archbishop  Spalding's 
death,  he  received  from  him  the  following  letter  of  welcome  : 

"  Dear  Father  Vaughan  :  Permit  me  to  welcome  you 
and  the  four  young  men  whom  you  bring  with  you,  to  labor 
in  behalf  of  the  colored  people  of  the  United  States.  The 
Archdiocese  of  Baltimore  receives  you  with  open  arms,  and 
I  have  not  a  doubt  that  you  will  be  welcomed  with  similar 
cordiality  by  my  venerable  colleagues  throughout  the  coun- 
try. .  .  .  Deriving,  as  you  do,  your  mission  to  our 
colored  people  directly  from  the  Holy  Apostolic  See,  you 
cannot  fail  to  be  blessed  by  God ;  and  in  spite  of  the  diffi- 
culties and  trials  which  attend  all  great  enterprises  for  his 
glory  and  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  which  you  may  there- 
fore reasonably  expect,  you  will  succeed. 

"  With  your  headquarters  for  the  present  in  Baltimore,  you 
will  be  able,  with  God's  help  and  the  fostering  encourage- 
ment of  the  respective  ordinaries,  to  extend  your  labors 
gradually  and  successively  throughout  the  entire  South,  and 
thus  to  reap  an  abundant  harvest  of  souls  redeemed  by  the 
precious  blood  of  Christ." 


342  Life  of  Aj'chbishop  Spalding. 

The  day  before  his  death,  I  heard  him  say,  in  reference  to 
this  mission,  that  it  was  one  of  the  things  which  he  had 
asked  God  to  let  him  see  estabhshed  in  his  diocese  before 
he  died. 

It  is  also,  in  part,  to  his  aid  and  encouragement  that  the 
colored  Catholics  of  Louisville,  his  old  episcopal  city,  are 
indebted  for  their  church.  Another  subject  to  which  Arch- 
bishop Spalding  referred  in  the  pastoral  letter  above  men- 
tioned was  the  Catholic  Publication  Society  of  New  York, 
founded  by  the  Very  Rev.  I.  T.  Hecker.  He  had  advocated 
the  establishment  of  a  society  of  this  kind  as  far  back  as 
1854.  In  a  letter  to  Archbishop  Kenrick,  written  in  the 
month  of  May  of  that  year,  he  thus  refers  to  the  matter : 
"  Whilst  the  Methodists  and  other  sectarians  have  their 
vast  book-concerns  and  all-pervading  tract  organizations,  it 
is  a  shame  that  we  children  of  the  light  should  be  so  inert. 
Let  a  Catholic  institute  be  established,  with  its  headquarters 
in  Baltimore,  the  bishops  all  to  be  honorary  members,  and 
Dr.  Ives  to  be  Secretary,  charged  with  the  publication  of 
books  and  tracts.  I  think  we  might  do  something  to  cope 
with  the  vast  and,  humanly  speaking,  perfect  organization  of 
those  who  fight  in  the  camp  of  Satan.  I  know  there  are 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  carrying  out  this  project ;  but  they 
grow  chiefly  out  of  our  own  inertness  and  want  of  zeal,  and 
could  be  overcome  by  a  little  determination.  Iniprobus 
omnia  vincit  Jabor^  When  Father  Hecker  at  length  under- 
took the  work.  Archbishop  Spalding  gave  him  his  hearty 
sympathy  and  efficient  aid  ;  and  he  himself  wrote  the  first 
tract  of  the  series  begun  by  the  Catholic  Publication  Society. 
This  attempt  to  organize  for  the  purpose  of  disseminating 
cheap  Catholic  literature  was  not  new  in  the  history  of  the 
church  in  the  United  States.  In  1827,  Archbishop  Hughes, 
at  that  time  a  young  priest,  made  an  effort  to  found  a  Tract 
Society  in   Philadelphia,  for  which  he  wrote  the  Conversion 


The  Catholic  Publication  Society.  343 

and  Edifying  DcatJi  of  Andrew  Diotn,  one  of  his  first  essays 
in  the  field  of  Hterature.  "The  success  of  Andrcza  D?(nn," 
•says  his  biographer,  "  was  much  greater  than  that  of  the 
project  from  which  it  sprang.  It  seems  to  have  been  the 
first  fruit  and  the  last  of  the  association  for  the  purpose  of 
circulating  cheap  controversial  tracts,  from  which  so  much 
was  expected."  * 

In  1829,  the  fathers  of  the  First  Provincial  Council  of 
Baltimore,  at  the  instance  of  Pope  Leo  XII.,  resolved  to 
form  an  association  for  the  dissemination  of  Catholic  books,  f 
In  accordance  with  this  resolution,  the  Metropolitan  Press 
was  founded,  which  continued  in  operation  for  several  years, 
and  undoubtedly  did  good,  but  never  came  up  to  the  idea 
of  a  Catholic  publication  society.  Another  association  of 
this  kind  was  begun  in  1839,  ^^'^^  ^^'^^  called  the  Catholic 
Tract  Society  of  Baltimore.  It  continued  its  publications 
for  five  or  six  years,  and,  according  to  Dr.  White,  "  de- 
serves honorable  mention,  as  having  produced  some  of 
the  best  essays  that  we  possess  in  vindication  of  the  true 
faith."  + 

When  Archbishop  Spalding  was  appointed  by  the  Holy 
Father  to  preside  over  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Balti- 
more, he  invited  Father  Hecker  to  lay  before  the  bishops 
his  views  with  regard  to  the  Catholic  Publication  Society, 
which  he  had  just  founded  ;  and  he  caused  special  mention 
to  be  made  of  this  association  in  the  matters  which  he  had 
•prepared  for  conciliary  deliberation  ;  and  in  the  pastoral  let- 
ter issued  after  the  close  of  the  Council,  it  was  earnestly 
recommended  to  the  Catholics  of  the  United  States. 

Upon  the  eve  of  starting  for  Europe,  in  1867,  Archbishop 
Spalding  exhorted  all   pastors  of  souls  in  his  archdiocese  to 

*  Life  of  Archbishop  Hughes,  p.  83. 

f  Vide  decret.  35,  in  General  Collection  of  Baltimore  Councils. 

J  Appendix  to  Darras   Church  Histoiy,  p.  653. 


344  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

establish  auxiliary  societies,  in  order  to  aid  the  parent 
society  by  helping  to  diffuse  its  publications.  He  recom- 
mended, however,  that  these  organizations  should  be  of  the 
simplest  character,  and  thought  that  in  many  cases  it  would 
be  found  expedient  to  combine  them  with  religious  and 
charitable  institutions  already  in  existence. 

"  We  cannot  but  believe,"  he  concludes,  "  that  the  zeal 
of  our  devoted  people  will  be  at  once  and  fully  awakened 
to  the  importance  of  this  subject  ;  and  that,  under  the 
guidance  of  their  worthy  pastors,  they  will  thus  be  enabled 
to  counteract  much  evil,  and  to  promote  the  cause  of  divine 
truth.  The  machinery  through  which  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church  has  been  accustomed  to  work  in  moving  vast  masses 
of  men  has  always  been  so  grand,  simple,  effective,  and 
silently  sublime  in  its  operation  that  Catholics  have,  in  too 
many  cases,  so  implicitly  trusted  to  its  workings  as  not  to 
deem  their  own  individual  co-operation  necessary.  On  the 
contrary,  those  outside  the  church  who  would  seem  to  have 
had  no  such  implicit  trust  in  the  divine  character  of  their 
church  organizations,  have  brought  more  fully  into  play  the 
human  elements  of  zeal,  activity,  and  generosity  of  contri- 
butions, and  have  thereby  succeeded  in  accomplishing  what 
would  seem,  from  their  reports,  to  denote  great  results. 
Their  zeal  and  generosity  in  promoting  what  they  regard  as 
most  useful  and  beneficial,  however  mistaken  their  views, 
should  put  us  to  the  blush,  unless  we  go  and  do  likewise 
in  the  sacred  cause  of  truth,  as  bequeathed  to  us  by  our 
fathers  in  the  faith." 

Having  made  every  arrangement  for  the  proper  adminis- 
tration of  his  diocese  during  his  absence.  Archbishop  Spal- 
ding sailed  from  New  York  on  the  4th  of  May,  in  the  French 
steamer  Pcreire.  He  was  still  very  feeble,  and  his  friends 
had  the  most  serious  fears  for  his  health.  Indeed,  many  of 
them  did   not  expect  ever  to  see  him  again  this  side  the 


Centenary  of  the  Martyrdom  of  St.  Peter.  345 

grave  ;  but,  as  he  himself  said,  his  hour  had  not  yet  come, 
and  much  still  remained  for  him  to  do.     He  suffered  greatly 
on   the   voyage,  and  was  still  quite  ill  when  he  landed  at 
Havre.     In   Paris,   where  he   remained    for  a   few  days,   he 
grew  no  better,  and,  by  the  advice  of  his  physicians,  he  went 
to  Vichy,  to  try  the  waters.     Three  weeks*  stay  here  did 
him  some  good  ;  and  he  started  for  Rome  on  the  loth  of 
June.     It   had  been  his  intention  before  leaving  home   to 
visit  the  Holy  Land,  and  he  had  written  to  a  friend  in  Rome, 
asking  him  to  obtain  permission  for  him  to  be  absent  from 
his  diocese  long  enough  to  make  this  journey  ;  adding  that, 
without    the    express    permission   of   the    Holy  Father,  he 
should   not  think  his  pilgrimage  had  God's  blessing.     His- 
sickness,  however,  took  from  him  all  thought  of  being  able 
to  gratify  this  pious  desire.     In  Lyons,  he  visited  the  ven- 
erable Cardinal  De  Bonald,  who  was  then  over  eighty  years- 
of  age.      In   Italy,  he  was  greatly  distressed  by  the  many 
evidences  he  saw  of  the  sacrileges  committed  by  the  Gov- 
ernment of  Victor  Emanuel.     In  Bologna,  he  went  to  the 
beautiful  church  of  St.  Francis  to  say  Mass,  and  found  that 
it  had  been  turned  into  a  warehouse  for  carriages  and  har- 
ness.     The  marble  altar  was  covered  with  all  manner  of 
rubbish.     He    told   the   superintendent    of   the    place    that 
God's  curse  would  fall  on  the  sacrilegious  government  of 
Italy.     He  had  a  Western  way  of  speaking  right  out  what- 
ever he  thought  without  any  special  regard  to  consequences,, 
and,  when  travelling  in  Europe,  took  advantage  of  every 
opportunity  that  presented  itself  to  give  the  apostate  Catho- 
lics of  France  and  Italy,  to  use  his  own  words,  a  piece  of 
his  mind.     These  renegadoes  were  about  the  only  class  of 
men  of  whom  he  ever  spoke  with  bitterness.      In  passing 
through  the  cities  and  towns  of  Italy,  he  never  failed  to  visit 
the  shrines  of  the  saints,  and,  when  possible,  to  say  Mass  at 
the  altars  where  their  relics  were  kept.     At  Assisi,  he  went 


34^  Zz/9  of  ArcJibisJiop  Spalding. 

to  confession  and  received  communion,  as  he  was  too  unwell 
to  say  Mass  in  the  church  of  St.  Francis.  He  arrived  in 
Rome  in  time  to  assist  at  the  grand  celebration  of  the  eigh- 
teen hundredth  anniversary  of  the  martyrdom  of  Saints 
Peter  and  Paul.  Five  hundred  bishops  and  not  less  than 
twenty  thousand  priests  took  part  in  the  ceremonies.  Rome 
had  never  beheld  anything  more  imposing.  But  once  before 
in  eighteen  hundred  years  had  she  seen  so  many  prelates 
gathered  within  her  walls  ;  and  never  before,  I  believe,  in 
the  whole  history  of  the  church  had  so  many  priests  assem- 
bled in  one  place.  The  celebration  began  on  the  evening 
of  the  28th  of  June,  with  the  illumination  of  the  dome  of 
St.  Peter's.  In  the  stillness  of  an  Italian  midsummer's 
night,  fifty  thousand  pilgrims,  gathered  from  the  whole 
earth,  looked  up  to  this  of  earthly  sights  the  most  divinely 
beautiful ;  and,  as  it  sank  into  their  souls,  awakening  thoughts 
of  all  the  heavenly  things  they  hoped  for,  they  felt  that,  after 
all,  it  was  but  a  feeble  image  of  that  pillar  of  light  which  it 
symbolized,  and  which  God  had  set  up  in  the  world  to  be 
the  beacon  to  their  souls'  faith  when  all  else  was  dark  and 
doubtful.  On  the  morrow,  when  Italy's  sun  had  just  begun 
to  tip  that  dome  with  gold,  all  blushing,  as  if  it  felt  itself 
powerless  to  recall  the  magic  scene,  the  fifty  thousand  that 
had  stood  without  were  within  St.  Peter's  "  ark  of  worship 
undefiled."  The  light  of  day  was  shut  out  by  crimson  cur- 
tains, which,  when  a  puff  of  wind  blew  them  aside,  let  in  the 
momentary  sunbeams,  as  if  God's  angels  were  peeping 
through.  Then  thirty  thousand  tapers  sprang  into  life,  and 
threw  their  varying  hghts  over  the  upturned  faces  of  the 
vast  multitude,  where  cardinals,  bishops,  priests,  kings, 
princes,  and  people  were  one  in  the  union  of  a  faith  that 
is  fixed. 

In  the  centre  of  the  nave  hung  an  inverted  colossal  cross 
of  prisms  of  glass,  transfigured  with  light,  above  it  the  keys, 


Centenary  of  the  Martyrdom  of  St.  Peter.  347 

and  still  higher  gleamed  the  Papal  tiara.  And  now,  Pius 
IX.,  his  countenance  illumined  by  that  smile  which  is  des- 
tined to  become  a  tradition,  is  borne  along  on  his  chair  of 
state  to  the  pontifical  throne.  He,  the  visible  head  of  a 
church  whose  children  for  eighteen  hundred  years,  when 
nothing  else  remained  to  be  done,  have  known  how  to  die, 
and  through  death  to  rise  to  a  higher  life,  even  on  earth,  is 
about  to  place  on  the  divine  roll  of  honor  the  names  of 
twenty-five  of  those  martyr-heroes. 

In  tho'se  rich,  clear-cut  tones  which  millions  have  heard, 
he  invokes  the  assistance  of  Heaven  in  the  Veni  Creator  Spi- 
ritus,  and  then  solemnly  pronounces  that  these  holy  mar- 
tyrs are  God's  saints,  and  as  such  are  to  be  honored  and 
reverenced  by  all  his  children.  The  silver  trumpets  in  the 
dome  sing  out  the  glad  tidings  to  heaven,  the  cannon  of  St. 
Angelo  re-echo  them  to  earth,  and  from  all  the  seven  hills 
of  the  great  city,  in  notes  deep  and  high,  in  tones  silver  and 
golden,  that  quiver  with  ]o\\  that  languish  with  love,  the 
glad  announcement  is  made.  The  Pope  intones  the  Te 
Deum :  "  We  praise  thee,  O  God  !  We  glorify  thee,  O 
Lord  !"  And  as  his  words  die  away,  fifty  thousand  voices 
take  them  up,  and,  with  a  power  that  seems  to  lift  that 
whole  multitude  almost  to  the  very  throne  of  God,  shout 
out,  with  a  noise  like  that  of  many  waters  :  "  Thee,  Eternal 
Father,  the  whole  earth  adores  I  To  thee,  the  angels  all ;  to 
thee,  the  heavens  and  the  universal  powers  ;  to  thee,  the 
cherubim  and  seraphim,  with  unceasing  voice,  speak!  Holy, 
holy,  holy!"  And  as  the  sound  dies  away,  the  soul  sinks 
back  upon  itself,  fainting,  overpowered  by  the  too  great 
manifestation  of  God's  beauty  and  strength. 

It  was  at  this  meeting  of  the  bishops  that  Pius  IX.  an- 
nounced his  intention  of  holding  an  oecumenical  council  at 
as  early  a  date  as  possible. 

During  his  stay  of  two  wrecks  in  Rome,  Archbishop  Spal- 


348  Life  0/  Archbishop  Spalding. 

ding  had  three   interviews  with  the  Pope,  from  whom  he 
received  great  marks  of  esteem  and  affection. 

At  the  Propaganda,  there  was  a  grand  reunion  dinner  of 
the  old  students,  amongst  whom  were  twenty-five  cardinals^ 
patriarchs,  archbishops,  and  bishops.  At  this  celebration,, 
in  which  part  was  taken  by  men  from  the  furthest  orient 
and  the  extreme  west  of  the  New  World — men  of  every  shade 
and  color,  of  every  tribe  and  tongue,  for  whom  the  Catholic 
Church  was  the  only  possible  point  of  union — Ar(;hbishop 
Spalding  met  many  of  his  old  friends  and  companions  with 
whom  he  had  in  early  youth  walked  upright  before  God  in 
the  pleasant  ways  of  virtue  and  knowledge  ;  and,  when  he 
now  looked  upon  the  silvered  heads  and  bent  forms  around 
him,  he  felt  that  the  night  was  coming  on  apace,  and  that 
soon  they  should  meet  again  in  the  home  of  Him  for 
whom  they  had  left  father  and  mother,  and  all  that  the 
world  loves.  All  Catholics  feel  at  home  in  Rome,  or  were 
wont  to  feel  so  when  their  Father  lived  in  freedom  there. 
But  Archbishop  Spalding's  love  for  the  Holy  City  was 
remarkable.     In  his  early  youth,  he  had  looked  to  her  as 

"The  fount  at  which  the  panting  mind  assuages 
Her  thirst  of  knowledge,  quaffing  there  her  fill." 

And  when,  during  his  severe  illness,  shortly  after  his  first 
arrival  in  Rome,  he  thought  that  he  was  to  die  there,  and 
that  there  his  bones  were  to  lie  buried,  he  rejoiced  and 
thanked  God.  His  greatest  grief,  when  that  sickness  lin- 
gered and  threatened  to  prevent  him  from  continuing  his 
studies,  was  the  thought  that  he  should  return  home  with- 
out having  received  a  thorough  Roman  education.  Even 
bad  health  had  no  power  to  sadden  or  discourage  his  young 
soul,  which  seemed  to  forget  itself  whilst  breathing  in  the 
supernatural  world  of  religion  by  which  it  was  surrounded. 
With    Rome    were    associated    his    earliest   and.    proudest 


Centenary  of  the  Martyrdom  of  St.  Peter.      349 

triumphs — victories  the  most  glorious,  because  won  when 
the  dull  world  has  not  yet  deadened  the  heart  and  shown 
it  that  it  is  all  of  no  use ;  that  all  earthly  victories  end  in 
■defeat,  and  are  marked  by  funeral  monuments. 

In  Rome,  he  had  met  many  of  the  men  whom  he  had 
most  loved  and  most  venerated,  whose  services  to  him  he 
thought  of  priceless  value  ;  and  he  had  a  long  memory  for 
benefits  received.  These  sacred  associations,  hallowed  by 
time,  all  united  to  strengthen  his  love  for  the  centre  of 
Christendom,  the  mother  of  all  the  churches,  Rome — 

"  Parent  of  our  religion  !   whom  the  wide 

Nations  have  knelt  to  for  the  keys  of  heaven  \ 
Europe,  repentant  of  her  parricide, 

Shall  yet  redeem  thee,  and,  all  backward  driven. 
Roll  the  barbarian  tide,  and  sue  to  be  forgiven." 

But  the  heat  of  midsummer  was  already  upon  the  Sacred 
City,  and  Archbishop  Spalding,  who  was  still  suffering,  was 
forced  to  hasten  away. 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

TR-^VELS     IN      EUROPE — IRELAND  —  PROGRESS      OF      THE 
CHURCH     IN     THE     ARCHDIOCESE    OF    BALTIMORE — THE 
'     AMERICAN   COLLEGE   IN   ROME. 


FTER  leaving  Rome,  Archbishop  Spalding  visited 


Loretto,  and   said   Mass  in  the  Holy  House,  to 
satisfy  his   devotion   to  her  whom  he  loved  to 
call  his  sweet  Mother. 
In    Padua,    he    visited    the    tomb    of   St.    Anthony,    and 
thence  turned  his  steps  to  Venice,  where  . 

"  Tasso's  echoes  are  no  more, 
And  silent  rows  the  songless  gondoiier.'* 

Each  of  the  four  times  he  went  to  Europe  he  travelled 
through  Italy,  and  each  time  he  beheld  with  new  delight 
her  marvellous  treasures  of  religion  and  art.  With  Ariosto^ 
he  might  have  said  : 

"  Visto  ho  Toscana,  Lombardia,  Romagna, 
Quel  monte  che  divide,  el  quel  che  serra 
Italia,  e  un  mare  et  I'altro  che  la  bagna."    ' 

In  Milan,  he  said  Mass  on  the  tomb  of  St.  Charles  Bor- 
romeo,  which  lies  in  the  crypt  beneath  the  Duomo — -the 
most  dazzling  structure  on  earth.  Overlooking  fruitful 
Lombardy,  "  the  pleasant  garden  of  great  Italy,"  and 
lifting  high  towards  heaven  its  four  thousand  marble  pin- 
nacles, all  shimmering  in  the  golden  sunlight,  it  stands  out 
against  the  cloudless  sky  like  the  vision  of  a  heaven-built 
palace. 


Travels  iii  Europe.  35 e 

Hastening  on  across  Lake  Maggiore  and  the  Borromean 
Isles,  over  the  Alps,  through  the  St.  Gothard's  Pass,  down 
Lake  Luzeriie,  whose  unsurpassed  natural  beauty  the 
genius  of  Schiller  has  idealized,  Archbishop  Spalding,  on 
the  13th  of  July,  reached  the  old  town  of  Luzerne,  above 
which,  on  either  side,  in  awful  grandeur,  rise  Pilatus  and 
the  Rigi — the  one  fog-covered,  the  other  white  with  snow. 

Leaving  Luzerne,  he  passed  through  Basel,  famous  for 
its  Council,  and  went  down  the  Rhine  to  Strasburg.  Here 
he  visited  the  seminary,  and,  with  the  permission  of  Bishop 
Raes,  made  an  address  to  the  students,  with  a  view  to 
induce  some  of  them  to  devote  themselves  to  the  Ameri- 
can missions.  Li  Mayence,  he  dined  with  Bishop  von 
Ketteler,  whose  independence  of  character  and  earnest 
devotion  to  the  church  he  greatly  admired.  Making  his 
way  between  the  vine-clad  hills  of  the  bending  Rhine,, 
which  heroic  deeds,  enshrined  in  scenery  "  nor  too  sombre 
nor  too  gay;  wild,  but  not  rude;  awful,  yet  not  austere," 
have  made  a  consecrated  stream,  to  which,  when  once 
beheld,  we  never  bid  farewell,  he  arrived  in  Cologne  on 
the  20th  of  July,  and,  two  days  later,  in  Louvain,  to  visit 
the  American  College,  to  the  foundation  of  which  he  had 
so  greatly  contributed.  He  saw  again  many  of  his  old 
friends  in  Belgium,  and  he  also  went  to  Holland,  where 
fifteen  years  before  he  had  been  received  with  so  much 
kindness.  Ever  anxious  to  increase  the  number  of  his 
own  priests,  and  also  to  assist  his  brother  bishops,  he 
never  failed,  when  permitted,  to  address  the  seminarians 
of  the  cities  through  which  he  passed,  in  order  to  awaken 
vocations  for  the  American  missions.  In  many  parts  of 
Europe,  he  felt  there  were  more  priests  than  were  really 
needed ;  and  here  the  harvest  was  ripe,  and  there  were 
no  laborers  to  gather  it  in.  All  this  while,  however,  his 
health  was  far  from  being  good,  and  he  was  really  wander- 


352  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

ing  about   Europe  chiefly  with  the  hope  of  finding  reh'ef 
somehow  or  somewhere. 

In  Brussels,  he  met  with  a  friend,  who  strongly  urged 
him  to  try  the  baths  of  Aix-la-Chapelle.  In  his  suffering 
condition,  it  was  not  difficult  to  persuade  him  to  do  any- 
thing that  promised  relief.  So  he  went  to  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
and  with  what  result  he  tells  his  benefactress  in  the  follow- 
ing note  of  August  4,  1869: 

■"  Dear  Madame  : 

"  I  drop  you  a  few  lines,  to  return  my  sincere  thanks  for 
having  so  effectually  called  my  attention  to  the  baths  and 
waters  of  this  celebrated  city.  I  find  that  all  you  said  and 
promised  has  been  fully  realized  ;  and  when  hereafter  any 
one  will  dare  tell  me  that  your  amiable  sex  is  accustomed 
to  draw  upon  imagination  for  its  facts,  or  at  least  to  color  ex- 
travagantly what  has  proved  pleasing,  I  shall  point  to  your 
recommendation  of  these  waters  as  a  sufficient  refutation 
of,  or  at  any  rate  a  most  noted  and  brilliant  exception  to, 
the  remark.  The  baths  are  all  you  said  and  more  ;  they 
are  really  superb,  and  just  what  I  needed.  In  fact,  I  con- 
sider it  a  special  providence  that  I  met  you  in  Bruxelles,  as 
otherwise  I  should  have  gone  to  Paris  instead  of  Aix.  Al- 
ready I  am  quite  relieved,  and  in  another  week  I  expect  to 
be  as  young  and  supple  as  ever.  .  .  .  Though  I  have 
not  yet  taken  any  excursion  to  the  country,  I  have  visited 
the  relics  and  curiosities  of  the  grand  old  cathedral,  and  also 
the  Hotel  de  Ville. 

"  This  is  one  of  the  oldest  fities  in  Europe,  and  its  inhab- 
itants say  with  pride  :  'After  Rome,  Aix-la-Chapelle.*  The 
city,  with  its  monuments,  carries  us  back  a  thousand  years, 
to  the  brilliant  days  of  Charlemagne,  who  vvas  a  giant,  not 
only  morally  and  intellectually,  but  physically;  for  he  was 
over  seven  feet  two  inches  tall.     .     .     ." 


Ireland.  353 

Now  that  his  health  was  restored,  he  was  anxious  to  get 
back  to  his  beloved  children.  Returnigg  to  Paris,  he  ^aw 
the  Universal  Exposition,  then  passed  through  London  on 
his  way  to  Ireland,  to  pay  a  short  visit  to  his  old  professor 
and  friend.  Cardinal  Cullen.  He  was  received  with  such 
warmth  and  hospitality  that  he  spent  three  weeks  in  viewing 
the  various  places  of  interest  in  the  Isle  of  Saints.  He  was 
so  pleased  with  his  visit  that,  a  short  time  after  he  returned 
home,  he  lectured  in  Baltimore,  to  an  audience  of  three  thou- 
sand persons,  on  his  tour  in  Ireland. 

Archbishop  Spalding  felt  the  deepest  interest  in  whatever 
concerned  the  welfare  of  Ireland  or  the  Irish  people,  as  he 
himself  says  in  a  letter  to  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
Irishmen. of  our  day,  from  motives  of  religion  and  of  sym- 
pathy, natural  to  one  who  had  Irish  blood  in  his  veins. 

His  most  intimate  friend  amongst  the  bishops  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  one  whom  he  most  admired — the 
gentle  and  scholarly  Kenrick — was  an  Irishman.  He  recog- 
nized -  the  fact  that  to  the  Irish  people,  above  all  others,  is 
the  church  in  this  country  indebted  for  its  progress  and  pre- 
sent prosperous  condition.  Not  only  here,  but  in  England, 
in  Australia,  in  Canada,  in  Nova  Scotia,  indeed,  wherever 
the  church  has  gained  ground  in  our  day,  the  Irish  race  ha3 
proved  itself  the  great  missionary  people  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Without  them  he  felt  the  Maryland  Colony  could 
have  made  little  or  no  impression  upon  the  country ;  and 
ixiey  had  already  borne  the  brunt  of  the  battle  and  gained 
half  the  victory,  before  the  German  immigration,  which  now 
•constitutes  so  powerful  an  element  of  the  church  in  the 
United  States,  had  attained  to  very  great  importance. 

The  Irish  people  were  specially  fitted  for  the  work  which 
the  church  had  to  do  here.  She  needed  men  whom  nor  fear, 
nor  contempt,  nor  derision  could  move  from  the  outspoken 
profession  of  their  firm-rooted  faith  ;   and  they  had  too  long 


354  ^if^  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

suffered  worse  than  martyrdom  for  conscience'  sake  to  be 
troubled  by  such  trifles.  Others  might  believe  that  success 
has  power  to  consecrate  crime  and  blazon  evil  deeds ;  might 
be  ever  ready  to  desert  the  unpopular  cause  and  salute  the 
rising  sun  ;  but  they  were  the  veterans  of  the  forlorn  hope,, 
never  so  true  to  the  object  of  their  love  as  when  that  object 
is  despised  and  hated  by  the  whole  world  beside. 

Then,  she  needed  a  people  between  whom  and  their  priests, 
it  would  be  impossible  to  sow  the  seeds  of  suspicion  or  dis- 
trust ;  that  their  well-knit  and  love-welded  union  might 
stand  firm  amidst  the  conflicting  elements  of  a  new  and  but 
imperfectly  organized  state  of  society. 

"  The  priest,"  said  the  late  Dr.  O'Connor,  "  is  the  Irish- 
man's great  source  of  consolation  in  every  shape  of  afflic- 
tion. In  poverty,  he  lays  open  to  him  his  wants,  and  the 
priest's  hand  and  tongue  are  ever  ready  to  find  any  remedy 
that  can  be  procured.  In  persecution  or  oppression,  he  flies 
to  him  for  succor,  and,  if  bold  or  persevering  advocacy  can 
find  redress,  it  will  be  obtained.  He  is  sick,  and  even  rela- 
tives and  friends  abandon  him ;  the  priest  alone,  undeterred! 
by  the  pestilential  atmosphere,  will  enter  his  cabin,  and 
remain  with  him  as  long  as  he  can  render  him  a  service  in 
assuaging  his  pains  or  lifting  up  his  soul  to  .God.  In  a  hun- 
dred other  things,  the  intervention  of  the  priest  is  sought, 
and  its  beneficial  influence  is  felt.  Do  differences  arise 
between  neighbors,  the  priest  is  the  umpire,  of  whose 
impartiality  and  justice  no  doubt  ever  crosses  the  mind. 
If  division  arise  in  the  family,  the  priest  is  sought  as  one 
who  will  pronounce  a  sentence  consistent  with  justice  and 
consideration,  assuaging  while  he  condemns,  and  pouring 
oil  and  endeavoring  to  heal  the  wounds  which  he  is  com- 
pelled to  open.  Does  a  mother  tremble  for  the  virtue  of  a 
daughter,  charmed  by  the  serpent  whose  glittering  spots 
have  attracted  her  fancy,  while  she  cannot  believe  in  the. 


Ireland,  355 

poison  hidden  under  the  tongue?  It  is  to  the  priest  she 
recurs,  and  his  venerated  words  dispel  the  delusion,  and 
save  her  beloved  child  from  the  wiles  of  the  charmer."  * 

There  is  nothing  in  the  whole  history  of  the  church  more 
beautiful  than  the  unbroken  affection  which,  for  so  many 
centuries,  has,  in  Ireland,  bound  together  priest  and  people  ; 
and  the  same  feeling  which  so  generally  exists  between  the 
clergy  and  the  laity  in  this  country  is  doubtless,  to  a  very 
great  extent,  a  traditional  continuance  of  that  old  love. 

In  the  history  of  probably  every  other  people  unfortu- 
nate divisions  have  arisen,  which  have  at  times  changed  the 
sacred  name  of  priest  to   a  term  of  reproach,  and,  in  the 
popular  language,  have  associated  it  with  opprobrious  epi- 
thets ;  but  through  all  their  strange,  eventful  history,  whether 
the  heavens  smiled  or  lowered,  whether  they  were  freemeni 
or  slaves,  with  the  name  of  priest,  the  Irish  people  have  ever 
coupled  a  title  of  endearment,  and   the  "  sogarth  aroon  " — 
priest  dear — like  the  English  "  sweet  home,"  is  one  of  those- 
phrases  created  by  the  great  heart  of  the  people,  which,  ini 
their  deep  meaning,  epitomize  all  that  is  most  precious  andl 
consoling  in  a  nation's  experience. 

No  one  more  admired  the  harmony  and  friendly  familiarity 
which,  in  this  country,  characterize  the  mutual  relations  of 
bishops,  priests,  and  people,  or  felt  more  keenly  the  all- 
importance  of  preserving  this  sweet  concord,  than  Arch- 
bishop Spalding.  Both  by  example  and  precept,  he  sought 
to  strengthen  these  bonds  of  love  ;  and  his  correspondence 
with  his  brother  bishops  is  evidence  both  of  his  great  con- 
cern in  this  matter,  and  of  the  high  wisdom  which  guided 
him  in  dealing  with  cases  of  practical  difficulty. 

As  an  instance  of  Archbishop  Spalding's  interest  in  what- 
ever concerned  the  welfare  of  the  Irish  race,  I  may  quote 
here  from  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  John  Francis  Maguire 

*  The  Irish  Priest— K  Lecture. 


35^  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

whilst  he  was  engaged  in  preparing  his  book  on  The  Irish  in 
A  nierica  : 

"  I  would  suggest,"  wrote  the  Archbishop,  "  that  you  take 
special  care  not  to  commit  your  countrymen  here  to  any 
party  in  politics,  or  to  either  side  in  the  late  civil  war  ;  and 
that  you  avoid  any  expression  which  might  indicate  that 
they  constitute  a  class  apart,  with  interests  different  from 
those  of  their  fellow-citizens  in  general.  ...  In  fact, 
in  the  late  war,  they  fought  nobly  with  their  respective  sec- 
tions, and  were  among  the  bravest  soldiers  on  either  side. 
So  in  politics  ;  though  the  great  majority  of  them  have 
always  been  Democrats,  yet  there  have  always  been  many 
exceptions." 

He  also  states  that  it  is  his  opinion  that  emigrants  to 
America  should  be  urged  to  seek  the  country  and  engage 
in  agricultural  pursuits,  and  not  to  remain  in  the  cities  and 
towns,  where  they  are  almost  necessarily  brought  into  con- 
tact with  vice  and  corruption.* 

*  Father  Thfebaud,  in  his  excellent  work  on  T/ie  Irish  Race,  advances  the 
opinion  that  the  crowding  of  vast  numbers  of  Irish  Catholic  immigrants  into 
the  large  cities  of  the  United  States  has  been  providential.  The  first  result 
of  this  has  been,  he  thinks,  "  the  sudden  and  necessary  creation  of  many 
new  episcopal  sees." 

Now,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  erection  of  a  new  episcopal  see  is  demanded, 
not  so  much  because  a  certain  number  of  Catholics  are  found  in  some  cen- 
tral point,  as  because  they  dwell  within  the  limits  of  a  given  territory.  The 
episcopal  see  of  a  prosperous  and  well-organized  diocese  maj^  be,  and  even 
in  the  history  of  the  church  in  this  countr}'  has  been,  a  small  and  unimpor- 
tant place  ;  in  more  than  one  instance,  the  cathedral  has  been  the  only  Eng- 
lish-speaking congregation  in  the  city. 

Another  consideration  to  which  Father  Thebaud  attaches  great  impor- 
tance is  that,  in  the  early  ages  of  the  church,  the  Gospel  was  first  preached 
in  the  large  cities,  the  populations  of  which  had  often  to  a  great  extent 
become  Christian  before  even  an  attempt  was  made  to  convert  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  rural  districts  ;  and  he  thinks  there  is  a  fundamental  law  gov- 
erning facts  of  this  kind.     "  Christianity,"  he  says,  "  is  a  growth,  and  conse 


Irelaiid.  357 

"  The  necessity  of  temperance,"  he  adds,  "  cannot  be  too 
strongly  inculcated.  No  Irishman  who  is  temperate  and 
industrious  can  fail  to  succeed." 

On  the  6th  of  October,  1867,  Archbishop  Spalding 
preached    in   the    Metropolitan   Church   of   Dublin,  and    on 


quLMitly,  like  everything  tliat  grows,  mirst  develop  itself  from  a  central  point 
outward."  But  does  not  Father  Thfebaud  mistake  the  point  at  issue?  The 
first  and  great  work  of  the  church  in  this  country  was  and  is  to  preserve 
the  faith  of  her  own  children.  In  comparison  with  this,  the  conversion  of 
non-Catholics  is  merely  of  secondary  im[)ortance.  Now,  the  overcrowding 
of  the  poor  in  the  great  centres  of  population  tends  to  develop  disease  of 
both  body  and  soul,  increases  the  death  ratio,  and,  consequently,  the  number 
of  orphans,  for  Avhom  the  church  is  unable  to  provide.  It  renders  the  proper 
education  of  children,  who  from  their  earliest  years  are  necessarily  thrown 
into  contact  with  vice,  almost  impossible,  and  thus  casts  upon  the  world 
large  numbers  of  young  men  especially,  who,  though  the  children  of  Catho- 
lics, are  practically  without  religion  or  morality.  I  may  add  that  it  diminishes 
the  influence  of  the  great  Catholic  body  bj^  keeping  in  squalid  poverty 
thousands  who  in  other  circumstances  might  create  for  themselves  and  their 
children  homes  that  would  become  the  sanctuaries  of  virtue  and  self- 
respect. 

That  the  cities  were  the  strongholds  of  the  Christian  religion  in  the  first 
ages  of  the  church  is  attributable  in  a  great  measure  to  accidental  causes. 
The  Jews  \vere  the  first  preachers  and  the  most  zealous  disciples  of  Chris- 
tianity ;  they  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  various  apostolic  churches,  and 
then,  as  now,  lived  almost  exclusively  in  the  cities.  The  peculiar  organiza- 
tion of  the  Roman  state,  and  the  condition  of  the  rural  pagan  populations, 
would  furnish  other  reasons. 

The  greater  facilities  ofTered  in  the  large  cities  for  escaping  the  pursuit 
of  their  persecutors  should  also  be  taken  into  consideration.  But  that 
Father  Thebaud  is  mistaken  in  supposing  that  the  Christian  religion  is 
necessarily  or  even  generally  propagated  from  the  great  centres  outward, 
the  conversion  of  the  Irish,  the  Anglo-Sa,xons,  the  Goths,  the  Franks,  and 
various  other  Teutonic  tribes  is  proof  sufficient. 

I  should  imagine  that  a  man  like  Father  Burke,  for  instance,  might  find 
here  a  mission  as  sublime  as  that  of  Peter  the  Hermit  or  St.  Bernard,  in 
preaching  to  our  people  the  wisdom  of  leaving  the  overcrowded  centres  of 
population  for  the  vast  and  fertile  districts  of  the  still  thinly  peopled  West. 

For  Father  Thebaud's  views,  see  The  Irish  Race,  p.  435  et  scq. 


358  Life  of  Archbishop  Spa Iding. 

the  same  day  he  took  the  steamer  for  New  York,  where  he 
landed  after  a  voyage  of  eleven  days. 

His  arrival  in  his  episcopal  city  was  greeted  with  marked 
manifestations  of  joy  and  reverence  by  both  priests  and 
people  ;  and  he  began  again,  with  renewed  health  and  cour- 
age, the  work  of  building  up  the  church  of  Christ.  His 
devoted  children  had  not  been  idle  during  his  absence. 
Within  six  weeks  after  his  return,  he  dedicated  four  new 
churches  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  alone.  The  magnificent 
building  for  the  Boys'  Protectory  had  been  nearly  completed, 
and  the  Sisters  of  Charity  had  purchased  a  spacious  house 
near  Franklin  Square  for  an  Industrial  School  for  girls,  which 
had  also  been  recently  established.  Thus  he  had  the  conso- 
lation of  beholding  these  two  cherished  institutions  placed  on 
a  firm  and  lasting  foundation.  The  new  convent  and  spacious 
chapel  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  had  been  finished 
and  dedicated.  The  monastery  of  the  Passionists,  who  had 
lately  come  to  the  archdiocese,  was  building.  Two  other 
institutions  had  been  begun,  which  are  to-day  among  the 
most  splendid  in  the  United  States — the  Novitiate  of  the 
Redemptorists,  at  Ilchester,  and  the  Scholasticate  of  the 
Jesuits,  at  Woodstock.  The  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart, 
at  the  special  invitation  of  Archbishop  Spalding,  had  entered 
the  archdiocese  of  Baltimore,  and  made  a  foundation  at 
Rosecroft,  almost  on  the  very  spot  where  the  first  Catholic 
Pilgrims  landed. 

All  these  evidences  of  real  and  substantial  progress 
rejoiced  beyond  measure  the  heart  of  the  Archbishop, 
who  seemed,  as  he  grew  older,  to  understand  more  and 
more  fully  the  priceless  value  of  the  true  faith,  and  to  love 
it  more  and  more  ardently.  One  of  the  most  important 
works  which  required  his  attention  after  his  return  home 
was  the  endowment  of  the  American  College  in  Rome. 

'*  The   idea  of  a  college  for  American  ecclesiastical  stu- 


The  Arnericiin  College  in  Rofue.  359 

dents  in  the  Holy  City  originated,"  says  Mr.  Hassard,  in 
his  life  of  Archbishop  Hughes,  "with  Pope  Pius  IX.  He 
proposed  it  to  the  bishops  of  this  country  in  1855,  in  his 
.answer  to  the  letter  of  the  prelates  composing  the  First 
Provincial  Council  of  New  York." 

In  1857,  Bishop  O'Connor,  of  Pittsburg,  at  the  request  of 
the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  sought,  whilst  in  Rome,  to 
come  to  an  understanding  concerning  the  establishment  of 
the  College.  The  Holy  Father  then  offered  to  give  the 
ancient  convent  of  I'Umilta  to  the  American  Church  for  the 
proposed  institution  ;  but,  as  the  building  was  at  the  time 
occupied  by  French  troops,  he  was  not  able  to  carry  his 
design  into  immediate  execution.  In  October,  1858,  Arch- 
bishop Kenrick  wrote  to  Bishop  Spalding  as  follows :  "  The 
Rev.  David  Whelan  has  been  appointed  by  me  agent  to 
■confer  with  the  authorities  in  Rome  as  to  the  erection  of  a 
college  for  the  United  States,  in  accordance  with  the  action 
of  the  Council  [Ninth  Provincial  of  Baltimore].  The  Pope 
urges  it  in  his- letter  to  the  Archbishop  of  New  York  and  in 
his  reply  to  our  Council."  The  College  was  not  opened, 
ihowever,  until  1859.  The  bishops  of  the  United  States 
ordered  collections  to  be  taken  up  to  defray  the  preliminary 
expenses ;  but  the  College  was  not  established  on  a  solid 
financial  basis,  having  to  depend  chiefly  upon  uncertain  col- 
lections, which  a  few  years'  experience  showed  to  be  inade- 
quate to  its  proper  maintenance. 

The  question  of  its  endowment  was,  therefore,  brought 
before  the  fathers  of  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Balti- 
more, who,  after  considering  various  plans,  finally  resolved 
to  raise  a  sum  of  money  which,  properly  invested,  would 
secure  the  College  a  fixed  annual  revenue.  In  January, 
1868,  the  Sacred  Congregation,  in  its  instruction  De  decre- 
tis  Concilii  corrigejidisy  urged  the  bishops  to  make  no  delay 
dn  coming  to  the  aid  of  the  College,  as  it  was  in  imminent 


360  Life  of  Archbishop  Sf  aiding. 

daneer  of  being;  closed  for  want  of  funds.  In  November, 
Archbishop  Spalding,  as  Chairman  of  the  Metropolitans, 
and  Bishop  Wood,  as  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  Bishops,  issued  an  Appeal  to  the  More  Wealthy 
among  the  Catholics  of  the  United  States,  in  which,  after 
referring  to  the  general  collection  ordered  by  the  Plenary- 
Council  to  meet  the  more  pressing  wants  of  the  College, 
they  recall  the  traditional  generosity  of  Catholics  in  the 
endowment  of  schools  and  colleges,  especially  in  ages  past, 
when  the  great  and  the  wealthy  held  it  as  a  privilege  to  be 
allowed  to  contribute  to  such  noble  and  Christian  works. 

"  We  urge  the  matter  upon  you  the  more  strongly,"  I 
quote  from  the  Appeal,  "  as  next  year  the  great  General 
Council  is  to  be  convened  in  Rome,  and  we  are  to  meet 
the  bishops  of  the  whole  world  in  one  of  those  grand 
assemblies  which  mark  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  Uni- 
versal Church.  To  the  councils  of  Nice,  Ephesus,  Chal- 
cedon,  Lateran,  Lyons,  Florence,  and  Trent  is  to  be  added 
that  of  the  Vatican.  Let  us,  before  we  go  to  the  Holy 
City,  have  the  consolation  of  knowing  that,  through  your 
munificence,  we  have  a  College  there  to  which  we  can 
proudly  point  as  bishops  of  a  great  Catholic  people  ;  let 
us  be  spared  the  disgrace  of  going  thither  to  find  its  doors 
closed  and  its  name  blotted  out  from  the  list  of  colleges 
existing  in  the  Eternal  City." 

It  was  proposed  to  raise  from  $250,000  to  $300,000,  to 
be  contributed  in  sums  of  $5,000,  $1,000,  and  $500.  The 
Rev.  George  H.  Doane  was  deputed  to  call  on  the  wealthy 
Catholics  of  the  various  dioceses  of  the  country.  He 
began  with  Baltimore.  On  the  29th  of  November,  1868, 
Archbishop  Spalding  wrote  to  the  Archbishop  of  New 
York: 

"  1  am  happy  to  be  able  to  inform  your  Grace  that  Fa- 
ther   Doane's   mission    in    Baltimore    has   been   successful. 


The  American  College  in  Ro?ne.  361 


The  result  of  the  week's  work  so  far  is  the  subscription 
— as  good  as  gold — of  twenty-one  thousand  dollars,  includ- 
ing three  burses,  but  not  including  from  three  to  eight 
thousand  dollars  additional,  which  we  have  well  grounded 
hopes  of  obtaining.  The  contribution  of  Baltimore  ta 
the  noble  work  may  be  safely  set  down,  I  think,  at  $25,000; 
and  it  may  reach  $30,000,  as  I  have  strong  hopes  of 
another  burse.  To  achieve  this  result  in  so  short  a  time^ 
it  was  necessary  diligently  to  prepare  the  ground  before- 
hand. This  was  done  by  publications  in  the  newspapers,  by 
previous  circulation  of  the  Appeal,  and  by  announcements 
from  every  pulpit  in  the  city  on  last  Sunday.  Should 
other  cities  and  dioceses  equal  Baltimore,  our  plan  will 
have  attained  the  end  proposed." 

His  correspondence  with  various  members  of  the  Amer- 
ican hierarchy  at  this  time  shows  with  what  earnestness 
and  energy  he  devoted  himself  to  this  work.  As  the 
oldest  Roman  student  in  the  episcopate  of  the  United 
States,  he  felt  a  special  interest  in  the  American  College, 
which  his  love  of  the  Holy  See,  and  his  unswerving  devo- 
tion to  whatever  he  thought  to  be  for  the  honor  and  good 
of  the  church  in  this  country,  rendered  still  more  active. 

Over  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  for  the  most  part 
in  the  form  of  burses  of  five  thousand  dollars  each,  were 
raised  by  this  Appeal ;  and,  although  this  sum  was  some- 
what less  than  what  had  been  expected,  it  was  still  suffi- 
cient to  place  the  College  upon  a  lasting  foundation. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

THE  DANGERS  THAT  THREATEN  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF 
OUR  FREE  INSTITUTIONS — THE  REMEDY — THE  CRAVING 
FOR   SENSUOUS   INDULGENCE. 

RCHBISHOP  SPALDING  was  unrelenting  in 
his  opposition  to  the  wasteful  extravagance  and 
the  morbid  craving  for  sensuous  enjoyment 
which  are  everywhere  invading  American  life. 
He  himself  had  been  brought  up  amid  the  primitive  sim- 
plicity of  our  early  republican  society  ;  and,  although  he 
had  afterwards  studied  in  Europe,  and  mingled  much  with 
the  world,  he  yet  never  outgrew  the  impressions  of  his  plain, 
•democratic  training.  He  considered  the  modern  tendency 
to  pagan  sensualism  as  hurtful  alike  to  the  highest  interests 
'of  true  religion  and  of  republican  institutions.  An  effemi- 
nate, pleasure-loving  people,  as  he  thought,  could  neither  be 
good  Christians  nor  honest  lovers  of  freedom ;  and,  with  St. 
Augustine^  he  held  that  only  a  virtuous  people  can  long  up- 
hold a  republican  form  of  government. 

He  knew  the  great  lesson  of  history  concerning  the  rise 
and  downfall  of  free  institutions.  At  first,  manners  are 
rude,  but  pure  and  natural ;  faith  is  simple,  but  deep  and 
earnest ;  and  the  people  are  poor,  but  patient  of  labor,  and 
smitten  with  the  sacred  love  of  liberty.  Then,  as  states  grow, 
either  by  conquest  or  industry  and  commerce,  wealth  is  de- 
veloped, the  arts  and  sciences  flourish,  manners  become  soft 
and  polished.  New  wants  spring  into  being  ;  the  desire  of 
pleasure,  the  love  of  luxury,  are  born.  The  country  blooms 
as  the  garden  ;  the  city  gleams  in  gold,  and  flashes  in  marble. 
Civilization    embellishes    existence,  and    casts   its   effulgent 


Dangers  that  threaten  our  Free  Institutions.    -^^62, 

beams  afar;    and,  at  their  genial  call,   the  scented,  many- 
hued  flowers  of  life  put  forth  their  tender  blossoms.     But 
beneath  the  flowers  the  serpent  lurks.     Life,  now  become 
so  sweet,  so  pleasant,  insensibly  enervates  the  soul.     Char- 
acters grow  less  strong  and  less  manly.     The  virtues  of  the 
fathers  die  with  them,  and  degenerate  children  cease  even  to 
admire  that   which   they  can   no  longer  imitate.      Egotism 
takes   possession    of    the    heart  ;    the    man    who    lives    for 
pleasure  lives  for  self  alone.     Corruption   spreads,  religion 
grows  sickly,  modelled  after  the  characters   of   those  who 
profess  it.     The  disorder  passes  from  the  heart  to  the  head. 
To  justify  his  voluptuous  life,  man  denies  the  religion  which 
condemns  it ;   and  infidelity,  like  "  pitted  speck  in  garnered 
fruit,"   soon  eats  its  way  to  the  core  of  the  nation's  life. 
The  boundless  thirst  for  gold,  the  equivalent  of  all  sensual 
gratification,  soon  creates  two  opposite  classes  in  society — 
the  very  rich   and   the   very   poor.     The  venality  of  those 
clothed   with  authority  renders  wealth  a  protection  against 
punishment  for  crime.    The  poorer  class  grow  insubordinate 
and  lawless.     Wise   men  shake  their  heads,  and   prophets 
foretell  the  coming  days  of  distress,  and  legislators  multiply 
laws.     But  all  to  no  purpose.      Corruption  grows,  ascends 
higher  and  sinks  lower,  until  all  are  drawn  into  its  foul,  con- 
tagious  current.      Society  then  calls  to  its  aid    force,  des- 
potism, and  gives  itself  up  into  the  hands  of  one  man,  who 
will  hold  all  bound  in  the  pitiless  chains  of  tyranny.     The 
people  revolt  and  murder  the  master  whom  they  had  creat- 
ed, and   then  kneel  at   the  feet  of  another ;    and  so,   from 
revolution  to   revolution,  from  despotism  to  despotism,  the 
state  is  hurried  on,  till,  swallowed  up  in  universal  chaos,  it 
sinks  into  the  abyss. 

Thus  great  states  have  grown  strong  and  mighty,  thus 
have  they  become  weak  and  powerless,  until  at  length  Time 
drew  his  ploughshare  across  the  plains  of  their  dwelling  and 


364  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

the  cities  of  their  abiding,  leaving  only  a  ruin  to  mark  the 
place  where  once  they  were. 

Archbishop  Spalding,  like  other  thoughtful  men,  knew 
that  the  American  experiment  was  still,  in  spite  of  its  daz- 
zling success,  a  problem.  God  has  never  yet  given  to  man 
a  finer  stage  to  strut  and  fret  his  brief  hour  upon  than  we 
have  here.  But  shall  it  endure  ?  Shall  the  free  institutions 
of  this  country  be  of  long  continuance?  This  is  a  question 
which  men  who  do  not  reflect  will  be  ready  to  answer  ;  but 
others  will  be  less  confident. 

Many  of  the  most  thoughtful  men  outside  the  church 
foresee  the  dangers  which  threaten  us  ;  but  they  perceive, 
too,  so  they  fancy,  where  the  remedy  lies.  They  are  smitten 
with  the  mania  of  our  age,  the  idolatry  of  what  they  call 
education.  Teach  the  people  how  to  read  and  write,  they 
say,  make  ignorance  a  crime,  and  all  will  be  well.  Arch- 
bishop Spalding,  taking  the  Catholic  view,  held  that  the 
"  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to  "  do  not  proceed  from  the  intel- 
lect alone,  but  that  we  inherit  a  depraved  will,  which  no 
mere  intellectual  culture  can  make  right. 

"What  in  me  is  dark,  illumine; 
What  is  low,  raise  and  support," 

Pope  sang  ;  and  this  is  true  philosophy.  We  must  enlighten 
the  mind,  but  we  must  also  raise  and  support  the  will. 

As  a  man  may  "  smile  and  smile  and  be  a  villain,"  so  he 
may  read  and  write,  and  write  and  read,  and  still  be  the 
veriest  slave  to  his  own  wrong-bent  heart.  The  danger 
which  threatens  the  permanency  of  our  American  institu- 
tions does  not  proceed  from  the  want  of  mental  culture. 
Intellectual  training  is  to-day  more  universal  than  it  has 
ever  been,  but  we  have  not  the  honest  love  of  liberty  our 
forefathers  had. 

The   founders  of  this   Republic  were  not  immaculate— 


Dangers  that  Threaten  our  Free  hist itutions,  365 

they  had  their  faults  and  their  prejudices,  as  all  men  have  ; 
but  however  we  may  judge  of  them  in  detail,  we  must 
admit  that  they  were  men  of  strong  character  and  of  honest 
purpose,  who  loved  their  country  better  than  their  private 
aims.  They  were  earnest  men — men  of  few  words  and  many 
deeds.  God  had  given  them,  for  the  field  of  their  labors,  a 
country  unsurpassed  in  natural  resources.  He  had  placed 
in  their  hands  the  printing-press  and  the  steam-engine,  to 
which  the}-  bound  every  implement  of  human  invention. 
The  desert  bloomed,  cities  grew  up  in  a  night,  and  the 
American  continent  teemed  with  the  busy  life  of  a  great 
people.  In  our  mountains,  we  found  iron,  and  silver,  and 
gold  ;  on  our  boundless  plains  fattened  the  finest  herds ; 
on  our  uplands  grew  the  wheat,  in  our  alluvial  valleys  the 
maize,  the  sugar-cane,  and  the  cotton  plant.  Our  country 
was  the  refuge  of  the  downtrodden,  the  breathing-ground 
of  oppressed  humanity.  But  beneath  the  flower  lurked  the 
serpent.  Prosperity  blinded  us,  success  crazed  us,  wealth 
enervated  us,  the  blessings  of  peace  made  us  long  for  the 
curse  of  war,  and  the  baptism  of  blood  has  not  purified  us. 
Corruption  still  rises  higher  and  sinks  deeper,  drawing  into 
its  foul  current  every  class  of  society  ;  and  I  now  but  repeat 

r 

what  the  nation  each  morning  reads — corruption  in  the  high 
places,  and  corruption  in  the  lower  strata  of  society,  corrup- 
tion in  the  halls  of  Congress,  corruption  in  the  State  Assem- 
blies, corruption  in  the  judiciary,  corruption  in  the  army  of 
officials,  corruption  in  the  business  circle,  corruption  in  the 
press,  corruption  in  the  pulpit,  corruption  everywhere.  Suc- 
cess is  the  only  criterion  of  excellence.  Everything,  even 
honor,  can  be  bought.  Money  is  impunity  before  the  law. 
An  oath  is  an  empty  word.  We  are  more  ready  to  swear 
than  our  fathers  were  to  affirm.  We  read  of  murders  and 
suicides  with  less  attention  than  of  the  price  of  gold. 
Nothing  is  done  except  by  clique  and  intrigue,  which  are 


366  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

the   forerunners  of  despotism.     But  this  is  not  the  worst,^ 
Crime  and  sin  are  not  the  worst  evils  of  society.     Indiffer- 
ence and  apathy  in  crime  and  sin  are  the  signs  of  approach- 
ing death.     Now,  the  question  is,  How  are  we  to  stay  this. 
^   mountain-wave  of  corruption  which  threatens  to  engulf  us  ?' 
The  leaders  of  an  unbelieving  generation  appeal  to  popular 
education  ;  but  that  portion  of  the  people  in  which  popular 
education  has  been  carried  to  the  greatest  perfection  is  dying 
a  self-inflicted  death.     In  New  England,  the  increase  of  popu- 
lation   is   almost    entirely  due    to    the    children    of   foreign 
parents.      A   people    whose  mothers  respect  not  the  most 
sacred  laws  of  life   is  self-doomed,  and  can  have  no  part  in 
the  future.     That  the  training  of  the  popular  intellect  is  of 
itself  not  a  sufficient    safeguard    against    the    danger   that 
menaces,  this  is  proof  enough.     Another  class  of  men  appeal 
to  political  reform  to  save  the  country.     But  with    universal 
suffrage,  the  representatives  of  a  corrupt  people  will  always 
be  corrupt ;    and,  besides,  no  merely  political  reform  can 
regenerate  a  people  which  has  abandoned  virtue.     When 
the  masses  are  depraved,  it  is  not  possible  that  they  should, 
have  an  honest  and  unselfish  love  of  liberty ;  and  therefore 
there  are  conditions  of  society  in  which  despotism  becomes, 
a  necessity ;    in  which  men  are  forced   to  choose  betweea 
the  tyranny  of  the  many  and  that  of  one  man.     Alexander, 
Csesar,  Cromwell,  and  Bonaparte  were  the  legitimate  offspring 
of  the  corruption  of  the  people  whom  they  ruled.     There 
are  but  two  ways  of  governing  men — the  method   of  law 
and  the  method  of  force.     When  law  ceases  to  command 
respect,   force  becomes  a  necessity.     Hence,  when    pagan 
nations  once  became  corrupt,  there  was  for  them  no  redemp- 
tion.    They  had  no  power  that  enabled  them  to  retrace  their 
steps,  and  to  remount  the  easy  way  that  led  to  hell.     The 
evil  was  immedicable.     But  is  it  lawful  to  argue  from  pagan. 
to  Christian  society  ?     Has  not  God,  in  the  Scriptural  phrase,. 


The  Rc7nedy.  367 

made  the  Christian  nations  curable?  For  the  corruption  of 
pagan  nations  there  was  no  remedy,  because  their  reh'gion 
was  null.  The  Christian  nations  are  curable,  but  only 
through  their  religion.  Politicians  cannot  heal  the  disorder. 
They  are  the  quacks  of  the  social  therapeutics.  It  was- 
religion  that  saved  society  at  the  downfall  of  the  Roman. 
Empire.  During  the  middle  ages,  when  Europe  was  split, 
up  into  petty  principalities,  a  prey  to  every  antagonism,, 
again  it  was  religion  that  remodelled  and  reformed  society.. 
When  Napoleon  stood  upon  the  wreck  of  the  first  French 
Revolution,  and  bethought  him  how  he  might  bring  order 
out  of  the  chaos,  he  at  once  reopened  the  churches  of  France,, 
and  recalled  religion  as  the  only  certain  instrument  of 
national  regeneration.  Popular  government  can  be  based 
only  upon  popular  virtue,  which  cannot  exist  without  reli- 
gion. Philosophy,  whatever  may  be  its  power  to  control 
the  passions,  cannot  reach  the  masses.  A  nation  of  phi- 
losophers there  has  never  been,  nor  can  there  ever  be.  For 
the  people,  religion  and  the  principles  of  morality  are  insepa- 
rable. Take  from  them  religion,  and  you  take  away  their 
only  guide  of  moral  conduct. 

The  religion  which  is  to  be  the  safeguard  of  morality,, 
and  consequently  the  bulwark  of  liberty,  in  this  country 
cannot  be  the  Protestant.  To  enable  us  to  understand  this,, 
two  considerations  will  be  sufficient.  First,  Protestantism 
in  the  United  States  has  already  lost  control  of  the  masses; 
and,  secondly,  it  has  in  itself  become  so  wholly  a  negation 
that  upon  it  neither  a  doctrinal  nor  a  moral  code  can  be 
based.  Persuaded  of  the  impotence  of  Protestantism  to- 
preserve  in  the  nation  an  element  of  moral  strength  suffi- 
cient to  save  it  from  dissolution.  Archbishop  Spalding 
looked  to  the  Catholic  Church  as  the  only  institution  which 
has  the  vital  power  to  counteract  the  matgrialistic  and 
pagan    spirit    which    threatens    to    infect    with    its    deadly 


o 


68  Lzyh  of  Archbishop  Spaldi7t^, 


breath  the  nation's  Hfe.  He  did  not,  it  is  true,  indulge 
in  dreams  about  this  country's  becoming  CathoHc  within 
a  short  time  ;  but  he  held  that  the  church  here  was  des- 
tined day  by  da}'  to  increase  both  in  strength  and  num- 
bers ;  that  she  would  be  able  to  retain  her  influence  over 
the  millions  of  her  children,  and  thereby  prevent  them 
from  abandoning  the  cardinal  principles  of  Christian  mor- 
ality; and  that  this  great  Catholic  and  conservative  ele- 
ment in  the  nation  would  be  its  best  defence  against  the 
licentious  thought  and  bald  materialism  which  threaten 
its  ruin.  The  great  work  of  the  church  in  its  relation 
to  civil  society,  according  to  the  theory  of  government 
under  which  we  live,  was,  in  Archbishop  Spalding's  view 
of  the  subject,  to  labor  to  make  her  children  true  to 
themselves  as  Catholics,  and  then  it  needs  must  follow 
they  could  not  be  false  to  their  duties  as  citizens.  Hence, 
in  season  and  out  of  season,  he  warned  Catholics  against 
the  corruptions  of  the  age.  He  specially  feared  lest  the 
spirit  of  worldliness  and  self-indulgence  should  with  soft- 
ness infect  the  rugged  hardihood  of  true  Catholic  faith, 
leaving  it  but  the  sickly  name  of  what  should  be  a  living 
substance ;  and,  therefore,  whilst  he  encouraged  innocent 
enjoyment,  he  firmly  set  his  face  against  all  those  amuse- 
ments which  in  any  way  offend  the  most  exalted  Catholic 
idea  of  Christian  morality. 

He  loved  the  simple  ways  of  the  olden  time,  and  could 
not  think  that  we  were  better  than  our  fathers  because  we 
had  become  more  effeminate  and  self-indulgent.  And  when, 
in  the  presence  of  the  immense  material  progress  of  the 
age,  he  beheld  men  bowed  beneath  the  yoke  of  the  adora- 
tion of  success,  the  idolatry  of  wealth,  and  the  slavish 
indulgence  of  passion ;  when  he  saw  every  principle  of 
truth,  of  justice,  and  of  honor  trampled  upon  by  individ- 
uals and  by  nations,  and    the  attempt   made    to    organize 


The  Remedy.  369 

society  merely  for  the  purpose  of  giving  the  greatest 
amount  of  sensuous  pleasure  to  the  greatest  number  of 
animals,  his  protesting  soul  almost  made  him  feel,  as  our 
philosophers  do,  contempt  for  the  whole  affair. 

Though  he  loved  his  country,  and  liberty,  and  the  peo- 
ple, he  never  had  any  special  admiration  for  this  nineteenth 
century,  in  which,  as  he  thought,  the  predominant  power 
of  matter  had  dwarfed  the  souls  of  men. 

Few  have  been  so  severe  as  he  in  denouncing  the  fashion- 
able dances  of  the  day,  which  he  held  to  be  directly  opposed 
to  purity,  the  immediate  jewel  of  the  Catholic  soul,  which 
gone,  the  temple  of  God  is  but  painted  clay.  That  a  Cath- 
olic woman,  whose  model  is  the  Virgin  Mother  of  God, 
should  expose  herself  to  wanton  contact  and  immodest  gaze 
by  participating  in  that  which  is  unseemly  in  its  practice 
and  immoral  in  its  consequences,  was  so  repugnant  to  his 
sense  of  virtue  that  he  could  not  even  think  of  it  with 
patience.  And  as  for  men,  he  thought  an  American  should 
be  too  much  of  a  democrat  to  dance  fancy  dances  which 
would  more  become  the  harem  of  a  voluptuous  tyrant 
than  the  republican  home  of  an  American  citizen.  Whilst 
Bishop  of  Louisville,  his  scathing  invectives  against  these 
immodesties  had  the  effect  of  almost  entirely  banishing 
them  from  Catholic  society,  and  in  Baltimore  he  continued 
the  crusade  against  what  he  considered  a  recrudescence  of 
paganism.* 

*  I  may  be  permitted  to  quote  here  the  words  of  all  the  bishops  of  the 
United  States,  addressed  to  those  who  have  charge  of  souls  : 

"  Choreas  immodestas,  quae  quotidie  magis  magisque  frequentantur, 
insectentur  ac  prorsus  damnent.  Moneant  fideles,  quantum  non  solum  in 
Deum,  verum  in  societatem,  et  familiam,  seipsos  denique  ofTendant,  qui 
choreis  hisce  vel  operam,  dant  vel  saltern  prsesentia  sua  favere  videntur." 

"  Let  them,"  I  translate  the  words  of  the  venerable  prelates  of  the  Ameri- 
can Church — "  let  them  inveigh  against  and  wholly  condemn  the  indecent 
dances  which  day  by  day  are  becoming  more  and  more  common.     Let  them 


370  Life  of  ArcJibishop  Spalding. 

He  was  equally  bitter  in  his  denunciation  of  the  immodest 
drama,  even  that  which  is  patronized  by  the  most  respecta- 
ble classes  of  society.  He  could  not  understand  how  Chris- 
tian women  could  become  the  public  and  avowed  approvers 
of  the  shamelessness  of  their  sex  in  exhibitions  which  are 
sufficient  to  make  men  who  have  souls  blush  to  think  their 
mothers  were  women.  He  would  have  preferred  the  bull- 
fight to  this  public  desecration  of  that  which  is  our  holiest 
instinct — the  sense  of  purity. 

He   probably  had  something  of  the  natural   fondness  of 
priests  for  exposing  the  weaknesses  of  women,   may  be   for 
exaggerating  them.     However  this  may  be,  he  considered 
the  system  of  female  education  in  this  country  subject  to- 
grave  objections.    Time  has  been  when  woman  was  degraded 
by  being  made  the  slave  of  labor  ;  but  we  Americans  degrade 
her  by  making  her  the  slave  of  indolence.     The  daughters 
of   the   rich   are  brought   up  like   exotics,    in  a  way  which 
develops  to  the  highest  degree  a  finely-wrought  and  most 
sensitive  nervous  system.     To  this  are  added  all  the  accom- 
plishments   which    constitute  a  merely    ornamental    educa- 
tion ;  and  the  young  lady,  beautiful,  intelligent,  refined,  so 
delicate  that   the  winds  of  heaven   may  not   visit   her  too- 
roughly,  is  fit  only  to  sit  in  the  parlor. 

The  license  which  the  custom  of  our  country  permits  in 
the  relations  of  the  sexes  before  marriage,  together  with  the 
thousand  fond  dreams  that  a  young  woman  nurses,  satisfies, 
for  a  while,  her  craving  nature.  Indeed,  her  life  at  this 
period  is  idle  and  free  as  the  wind  ;  all  that  she  has  to  do  is,, 
on  varied  wing  and  in  bright  colors,  to  flit  about  and  sip  the 
honey  from  the  many-scented  flowers  that  smiling  nature- 
holds  out  to  her.     Her  whole  education  has  impressed  upon 

teach  the  faithful  that  they  who  take  part  in,  or  by  their  presence  give  sane 
tion  to,  such  dances,  sin  not  only  against  God,  but  against  society,  the  fam»- 
ily,  even  against  themselves." — Concil.  Bait.  Plen.  II,  n.  472. 


The  Craving  for  SensiLoiis  Indulgence.       371 

her  that  her  first  and  highest  duty  is  to  please  ;  that  her 
chief  use  in  the  world  is  to  be  an  ornament — a  something 
that  will  give  pleasure  to  others. 

She  marries.  A  life  of  indolence  and  nervous  excitement 
has  rendered  her  unfit  to  be  either  a  wife  or  a  mother. 
The  few  children  she  has,  if  she  have  any,  are  most  gen- 
erally feeble,  and  hence  the  American  family,  as  a  rule,  is 
the  most  short-lived  of  families.  Now  that  life  for  her  has 
become  a  serious  reality,  imposing  duties  that  are  not 
always  agreeable,  her  sensitive  nature  is  shocked  by  the 
rude-contaci:  of  things  as  they  are,  and  seeks  for  happiness,, 
not  in  the  fulfilment  of  duty,  but  in  the  indulgence  of 
desire.  Before  marriage,  she  lived  only  to  please,  and  now 
she  thinks  it  but  fair  that  she  should  live  but  to  be  pleased- 
Unhappy  at  home,  she  goes  into  society,  and  her  woman's- 
ambition  causes  her  to  rush  into  every  extravagance.  She 
must  live  in  a  palace  and  dress  like  a  queen  ;  and,  if  there 
be  a  foreign  land  of  beauty  that  society  talks  about,  she 
must  visit  it;  and.  to  wind  up  this  eventful  history,  she 
sometimes  succeeds  in  making  her  husband  a  bankrupt  im 
name  and  fortune. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  there  is  in  our  society 
a  very  solid  background  of  truth  to  this  possibly  somewhat 
high  coloring. 

Another  consideration  advanced  by  Archbishop  Spal- 
ding, in  a  sermon  on  the  extravagance  of  the  times,  was 
that  this  love  of  display  in  women  checks  Christian  mar- 
riage, and  thereby  becomes  the  cause  of  innumerable  other 
evils. 

In  the  Pastoral  Letter  of  the  Second  Plenary  Council, 
and,  indeed,  in  \.\i&  Acts  of  the  Council  also,  the  shoals  uport 
which  virtue  too  often  suffers  shipwreck  are  signalled. 

"  We  consider  it  to  be  our  duty,"  say  the  fathers  of  that 
Council,   "  to   warn   our  people  against  those    amusements 


372  Life  of  Archbishap  Spalding. 

which  may  easily  become  to  them  an  occasion  of  sin,  and 
especially  against  those  fashionable  dances,  which,  as  at 
present  carried  on,  are  revolting  to  every  feeling  of  delicacy 
and  propriety,  and  are  fraught  with  the  greatest  danger  to 
morals.  We  would  also  warn  them  most  solemnly  against 
the  great  abuses  which  have  sprung  up  in  the  matter  of 
fairs,  excursions,  and  picnics,  in  which,  as  too  often  con- 
ducted, the  name  of  charity  is  made  to  covef  a  multitude 
of  sins.  We  forbid  all  Catholics  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  them,  except  when  managed  in  accordance  with  the 
regulations  of  the  Ordinary,  and  under  the  imniediate  super- 
vision of  their  respective  pastors." 

In  the  Tenth  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore,  which,  in 
accordance  with  a  law  promulgated  in  the  Plenary  Council, 
Archbishop  Spalding  convoked  and  presided  over  in  the 
spring  of  1869,  this  subject  was  again  discussed,  and  in  the 
Pastoral  Letter  reference  is  made  to  it  in  language  even 
still  more  pointed : 

"  Prominent  among  the  evils  we  have  to  deplore,"  say 
the  bishops  of  this  synod,  "  and  which  are  an  evidence  of 
the  growing  licentiousness  of  the  times,  may  be  reckoned  a 
morbid  taste  for  indecent  publications,  and  the  frequenta- 
tion  of  immoral  or  positively  obscene  theatrical  perform- 
ances. No  entertainments  seem  to  satisfy  the  fast  degene- 
rating spirit  of  the  age,  unless  they  be  highly  sensational, 
and  calculated  to  gratify  the  most  prurient  appetites.  .  .  . 
The  church,  far  from  discountenancing,  has  always  en- 
couraged, innocent  and  moderate  amusements,  as  useful 
or  necessary  relaxation?  ;  but,  while  approving  of  harmless 
diversions,  she  never  ceases  to  exercise  her  sacred  influence 
in  censuring  all  amusements  which  can  be  purchased  only 
at  the  expense  of  virtue.  We  deem  it  particularly  our 
solemn  duty  to  renew  our  warning  against  the  modern 
fashionable    dances,    commonly    called    German,  or    round 


The  Craving  for  Sensuous  Indulgence.       '^']2i 

dances,  which  are  becoming  more  and  more  the  occasions 
of  sin.  These  practices  are  so  much  the  more  dangerous 
as  several  persons  seem  to  look  upon  them  as  harmless,  and 
indulge  in  them  without  any  apparent  remorse  of  con- 
science." 

In  this  same  letter,  reference  is  made  to  what  the  fathers 
call  the  "murder  of  the  innocents,"  which  threatens  to 
become  the  foulest  stain  on  our  national  character — -a 
crime,  say  they,  which  is  most  prevalent  in  those  localities 
where  the  system  of  education  without  religion  has  been 
longest  established  and  most  successfully  carried  out. 
They  believe  that  our  Catholic  population  is  uncontami- 
nated  by  this  vile  infection  ;  but  they  desire  to  raise  this 
voice  of  warning  to  signal  the  danger  while  it  is  yet  afar. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

DEATH  OF  THE  VERY  REV.  B.  J.  SPALDING — VISITATION 
OF  THE  DIOCESE — THE  LITTLE  SISTERS  OF  THE  POOR— 
THE   VATICAN   COUNCIL. 


T  was  durijig  the  summer  of  1868  that  Archbishop 
Spalding  met  with  the  sad  loss  of  his  brother, 
the  Very  Rev.  B.  J.  Spalding,  Administrator  of 
the  diocese  of  Louisville,  whose  unexpected 
death  overwhelmed  him  with  sorrow.  There  was  a  differ- 
ence of  but  two  years  in  their  ages.  They  had  studied 
together  at  St.  Mary's,  at  St.  Joseph's,  and  in  the  Propa- 
ganda, and  afterwards  for  many  years  they  had  labored  side 
by  side  in  Kentucky.  Each  had  been  a  helper  to  the  other ; 
and  the  love  that  united  them,  if  not  demonstrative,  was  of 
the  deepest  and  truest  kind. 

The  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Spalding  had  invested  the  patrimony 
which  he  had  received  from  his  father  principally  in  real 
estate  in  Louisville,  which,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  had 
grown  to  be  of  some  value.  In  his  will,  which  was  drawn 
up  a  few  months  before  his  death,  he  bequeathed  all  that  he 
should  die  possessed  of  to  his  brother,  the  Archbishop  of 
Baltimore,  to  be  expended,  according  to  his  discretion,  for 
charitable  objects  in  the  diocese  of  Louisville. 

In  carrying  out  this  bequest,  Archbishop  Spalding,  in 
accordance  with  what  he  knew  to  have  been  his  brother's 
intentions,  deeded  the  principal  part  of  the  estate  to  a  cor- 
poration which  he  had  had  chartered  under  the  title  of  "  St. 
Joseph's  Industrial  School  for  Boys  of  the  city  of  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky." 

What  was  not  bestowed  in  this  manner  he  divided  among 


Visitation  of  the  Diocese.  375 

the  various  benevolent  institutions  and  associations  of  the 
diocese. 

Three  of  the  new  dioceses,  and  one  of  the  vicariates  apos- 
tolic, for  the  erection  of  which  the  fathers  of  the  Second 
Plenary  Council  had  petitioned  the  Holy  See,  were  in  the 
province  of  Baltimore.  There  was  considerable  delay  in 
llome  in  designating  the  persons  who  were  to  fill  the  new 
sees.  At  length,  however,  the  Bulls  arrived  ;  and,  on  the 
i6th  of  August,  1868,  Archbishop  Spalding,  assisted  by 
nearly  all  his  suffragans,  gave  the  episcopal  consecration,  in 
the  cathedral  of  Baltimore,  to  the  Right  Rev.  Thomas  A. 
Becker,  who  had  been  appointed  to  the  see  of  Wilmington, 
and  to  the  Right  Rev.  James  Gibbons,  who  had  been  named 
Vicar  Apostolic  of  North  Carolina  ;  and  he  afterwards  ac- 
companied the  newly  consecrated  prelates,  both  of  whom 
had  been  attached  to  his  cathedral,  to  their  respective  dio- 
ceses, and  assisted  at  their  installation. 

During  the  summer  and  fall  of  this  year,  he  superintended 
the  printing  of  the  Acts  and  Decrees  of  the  Second  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore,  which  he  introduced  into  his  theo- 
logical seminary  as  the  text-book  of  canon  law. 

In  the  spring  and  summer  of  1869,  Archbishop  Spalding 
was  occupied  in  visiting  his  diocese,  preparatory  to  his 
departure  for  the  Vatican  Council. 

From  September,  1868,  to  October,  1869,  he  administered 
confirmation  over  a  hundred  times,  the  number  of  persons 
confirmed  by  him  during  this  period  being  six  thousand 
four  hundred  and  five,  eight  hundred  and  forty-seven  of 
whom  were  converts.  It  may  be  stated,  as  another  consol- 
ing evidence  of  the  progress  of  religion,  that  in  June,  1869, 
he  conferred  sacred  orders  upon  the  largest  number  of  can- 
didates ever  ordained  at  one  time  in  the  United  States. 
Twenty-nine  were  ordained  subdeacons ;  twenty-six,  dea- 
cons ;  and  twenty-four,  priests. 


376  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

In  July,  he  received  special  powers  from  Rome  to  pro^ 
ceed  to  Chicago  to  examine  into  the  state  of  things  in  that 
diocese,  and  to  report  to  the  Holy  See. 

It  was  during  this  summer  that  he  had  the  happiness  of 
welcoming  to  Baltimore  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor — 
one  of  the  noblest  congregations  of  Catholic  women  that 
have  come  to  us  from  France,  to  whose  Christian  charity 
we  owe  so  much.  Their  mission  is  to  the  old,  who  are- 
helpless,  who  have  nothing  of  that  which  should  accom- 
pany old  age,  but  whom  the  world,  now  that  they  are 
broken  and  worn  by  the  weight  of  toilsome  yea-rs,  has  cast 
aside  as  no  longer  fit  for  its  uses.  To  them,  under  the 
habit  of  the  Little  Sister,  comes  the  ever-abiding  love 
of  Jesus  Christ,  stretching  out  the  helping  hand,  speaking 
the  cheery  word,  all  redolent  of  love,  and  offering  to  their 
abandoned  age  the  comforts  of  a  home. 

Archbishop  Spalding  was  most  anxious  to  have  in  his 
diocese  those  institutions  of  the  church  whose  special  mis- 
sion is  to  relieve  human  suffering  and  to  console  human, 
sorrow.  Whatever  his  intellectual  gifts  may  or  may  not 
have  been,  he  had  a  great  Catholic  heart,  which  went  out  in 
love  and  sympathy  to  all — to  the  orphan,  to  the  negro,  to- 
the  sinful,  to  the  outcast,  to  the  aged,  to  all  who  suffered 
and  had  none  to  pity  them.  He  felt  that  the  poor,  above  all 
others,  need  the  church,  and  that  she  needs  them.  A  reli- 
gious faith  which  is  confined  to  the  wealthy  can  have  but 
little  force  or  vitality ;  for  the  rich,  as  a  class,  are  always 
less  earnest  in  religion  than  the  poor.  In  our  age,  above 
all,  which  worships  only  success,  they  consider  their  own 
prosperity  in  this  world  as  a  mark  of  the  divine  favor,  an 
especial  sign  of  predestination,  and  hence  they  are  satisfied 
with  the  name  of  religion,  or  without  religion.  A  church 
which  is  the  church  of  the  rich  alone  cannot  be  the  church 
of  Jesus  Christ.     The  poor  alone   heard   him  gladly,   and 


The  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor.  377 

too  often  they  only  love  to  hear  those  who  preach  the 
doctrines  which  he  taught.  Present  prosperity  and  joy  so 
fascinate  and  inebriate  men  that  they  become  unconscious 
of  the  uncertainty  of  their  condition,  and  forget  that  "  one 
blast  may  chill  them  into  misery." 

"  AUes  lasst  sich  ertragen 
Nur  nicht  eine  Reihe  schoner  Tagen." 

"  The  poor  you  shall  have  always  with  you,"  said  Jesus 
Christ.  Possibly  he  meant  that  the  people  would  never 
betray  the  church.  To-day,  at  least,  the  kings  and  princes 
of  the  earth  have  denied  her,  they  that  are  dressed  in  brief 
authority  have  apostatized,  and  the  church,  regretting  that 
of  which  she  is  guiltless,  stretches  out  her  mother's  arms  to 
the  people,  the  children  of  her  earliest  love. 

"  The  friendship  of  the  poor,"  said  St.  Bernard,  in  the 
days  when  the  church  ruled  the  world — "  the  friendship  of 
the  poor  makes  us  the  friends  of  kings."  The  people  is 
king  to-day,  and  the  church  that  made  the  people  free  will 
make  them  holy.  Infidelity  is  seeking  to  found  the  demo- 
cracy of  disorder  and  unrule  on  the  ignoble  basis  of  mere  ani- 
malism ;  the  church  will  build  up  the  democracy  of  Christ, 
which  will  recognize  the  inalienable  rights  of  the  immortal 
soul  as  the  only  source  of  human  dignity  and  of  human 
liberty. 

"  I  believe,"  says  M.  Louis  Veuillot,  "  that  the  future 
belongs  to  the  democracy  ;  that  the  church  will  discipline 
the  democratic  barbarism  as  she  has  disciplined  all  other 
barbarisms,  which,  under  different  names,  are  in  fact  iden- 
tical ;  that  she  will  baptize  it,  that  she  will  educate  it,  that 
she  will  organize  it  into  a  body  politic,  and  that,  at  length,, 
we  shall  have  a  Holy  Roman  Democracy,  as  we  have  had  a 
Holy  Roman  Empire.  And  perhaps  it  will  then  be  found 
that  in  substance  both  are  the  same  thing."  * 

*  Rome  pendant  le  Concile,  p.  495. 


1 


78  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 


The  people  will  belong  to  them  who  have  the  power  to 
love  them  most,  and  only  Christ  and  they  who  believe  in 
him  can  love  the  people.  This  age  and  country  have  talked 
of  the  people,  have  flattered  the  people,  in  wordy  language 
have  sought  to  raise  the  people  to  heaven.  The  world  loves 
the  people  when  the  people  can  work,  when  the  people  can 
vote,  when  the  people  can  fight  ;  but  when  the  people  are 
sick,  are  sorrowful,  are  poor,  only  Jesus  Christ  and  they  v/ho 
love  him  love  the  people.  The  world  loves  beauty,  it  loves 
power,  it  loves  money  ;  but  only  Christ,  and  they  who  are 
his,  love  the  poor,  the  afflicted,  and  the  suffering.  Were  it 
not  for  Jesus  living  in  his  church,  again  the  people  would 
be  forced  to  butcher  one  another  beneath  the  eyes  of  a  rich, 
voluptuous  world,  that  the  weary,  dragging  hours  might 
pass  less  slowly. 

The  world  talks  of  the  people,  of  the  freedom  of  the  peo- 
ple, of  the  happiness  of  the  people  ;  Jesus  Christ  alone  is 
the  God  of  the  people,  the  man  of  the  people.  Where  he 
is  not,  the  people  are  nothing ;  take  him  away,  and  there 
remains  but  paganism — the  many  living  for  the  few,  the 
many  dying  for  the  few— man  without  dignity,  and  woman 
without  honor. 

And  this  is  the  great  question  of  the  future — Who  shall 
have  the  people  ?  The  kings  of  Christendom  with  their 
own  hands  have  profaned  the  sacredness  that  did  hedge 
them  in.  Protestantism  is  a  wreck.  In  presence  of  the 
people,  there  remain  but  the  church  and  atheism.  Will  the 
people  of  the  future  be  Catholic,  or  will  they  be  godless? 
This  is  the  question.  Driven  from  the  palaces  of  kings  and 
from  the  seats  of  worldly  power,  the  church  is  left  with  the 
people  alone,  and  she  will  entwine  her  gentle  arms  around 
their  necks,  and  they  will  be  her  children,  and  she  will  be 
their  mother.  Christians  must  believe  this,  because  they 
are  not  permitted  to  despair  of  the  human  race. 


The   Vatica7i  Council.  379 

In  connection  with  the  great  world-struggle  of  the  future, 
the  most  important  event  which  has  taken  place  in  our  day 
is  the  Vatican  Council. 

It  was  on  the  20th  of  October,  1869,  that  Archbishop 
Spalding  bade  farewell  to  his  beloved  children,  in  obedience 
to  the  voice  of  Christ's  Vicar,  in  order  to  take  part  in  the 
great  Council  which  Pius  IX.  had  convoked  to  meet  on  the 
8th  of  the  following  December.  For  days  before,  his  house 
had  been  thronged  with  the  crowds  that  came  to  ask  his 
blessing  and  bid  him  God-speed  on  his  way.  On  the  day  of 
his  departure,  which  was  lovely  as  only  an  American  Octo- 
ber day  can  be,  the  whole  city  seemed  to  have  turned  out 
to  do  him  honor.  The  Catholic  societies  with  their  banners 
formed  a  double  line  along  the  streets  through  which  the 
procession  passed.  The  priests  and  seminarians  of  the  arch- 
diocese led  the  way,  then  came  several  bishops  in  carriages, 
followed  by  that  which  bore  the  Archbishop,  and  behind 
this  walked  the  boys  of  the  St.  Mary's  Industrial  -School. 
As  the  procession  moved  down  the  densely  crowded  street, 
words  of  affection  and  love  broke  from  the  lips  of  the  peo- 
ple. "God  bless  you.  Archbishop!"  they  said,  and  then, 
^'Good-by,  dear  Archbishop  "  ;  and  when  something  caused 
a  momentary  halt,  they  rushed  around  his  carriage  to  touch 
his  hand  or  say  a  last  kind  word  of  parting. 

The  Baltimore,  on  which  Archbishop  Spalding  was  to 
sail,  was  lying  some  distance  down  the  bay.  Two  thousand 
people  were  on  the  boats  which  took  the  Archbishop  and  his 
party  out  to  the  steamer,  which  was  decked  with  flags  and 
hung  with  wreaths  of  evergreens  and  flowers.  Over  the 
companion-ladder,  a  beautiful  arch  had  been  thrown,  in 
the  centre  of  which  was  inscribed,  "  Rome."  Under  this 
the  Archbishop  and  party  passed  to  the  deck,  where  they 
were  received  by  the  officers  of  the  ship. 

When    the    signal  was  given,    the    Baltimore  moved   off 


o 


80  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 


amid  tlie  booming  of  cannon  and  the  cheers  of  the  multi- 
tude. On  Federal  Hill,  where  the  church  of  St.  Mary,  the 
Star  of  the  Sea,  now  stands,  a  large  concourse  of  people  had 
assembled  ;  and,  as  the  boats  passed,  they  cheered  lustily. 
At  Fort  McHenry,  they  Avere  saluted  by  the  military  band,, 
and  by  the  lowering  and  hoisting  of  the  flag.  At  Swann 
Point,  the  Baltimore  laid  to  ;  the  boats  which  still  accom- 
panied her,  came  up,  the  parting  words  were  spoken,  the  ship 
moved  out  to  sea,  and  the  boats  turned  homeward. 

The  passage  across  the  ocean  was  as  pleasant  as  a  sea 
voyage  can  be,  favored,  as  it  was,  both  by  pleasant  company 
and  fair  weather.  On  the  two  Sundays  on  which  they  were 
on  the  waters.  Catholic  service  was  held,  at  which  both  crew 
and  passengers,  with  few  exceptions,  assisted.  On  the  first 
Sunday,  Archbishop  Spalding  preached  on  the  divinity  of 
Christ,  and  interwove  in  his  remarks  a  beautiful  tribute  to 
his  Immaculate  Mother.  On  the  second  Sunday,  the  sermon 
was  delivered  by  Bishop  McGill.  As  they  approached 
Southampton,  on  the  2d  of  November,  the  bishops  and 
priests  joined  in  singing  the  Te  Deiim,  in  thanksgiving  for 
their  prosperous  voyage. 

Archbishop  Spalding,  in  company  with  several  of  the 
bishops  who  had  crossed  the  ocean  with  him,  after  spend- 
ing a  few  days  in  England,  passed  into  France  ;  and,  having, 
delayed  a  little  in  Paris  and  Lyons,  sailed  from  Marseilles 
for  Civita  Vecchia.  It  took  them  four  days  to  make  the 
trip  across  the  Mediterranean,  thirty-six  hours  being  the 
usual  time  required.  Stress  of  weather  forced  them  to  put 
into  the  Isle  of  Elba,  where  they  visited  the  modest  house 
in  which  the  great  Napoleon  dwelt  during  his  first  exile. 
When  within  two  hours'  sail  of  Civita  Vecchia,  the  rough 
sea  again  forced  them  to  seek  shelter  in  a  neighboring  port,, 
where  they  were  tossed  about  in  all  the  agony  of  sea-sick- 
ness.    But   on  the  26th  of   November,  they  succeeded  ini 


The    Vatican  Council.  381 

landing  in  Civjta  Vecchia,  where  they  were  warmly  wel- 
comed by  the  Governor  of  the  city,  who  entertained  the 
bishops  and  priests  at  dinner;  and  soon  Rome  gladdened 
their  eyes,  and  they  were  again  at  home. 

The  chief  fact  in  connection  with  the  history  of  the 
Vatican  Council  is  the  definition  of  the  infallibility  of  the 
Pope. 

Although  the  Council  itself  remains  unfinished,  this,  the 
greatest  work  which  it  could  have  accomplished,  is  complete, 
and  has  its  own  history. 

Before  the  Council  assembled,  and  after  it  had  met,  much 
feeling  was  called  forth  by  agitations  against  the  definition 
of  the  dogma,  or  in  favor  of  it ;  and,  as  it  is  easy  to  perceive 
now,  far  too  great  importance  was  attached  to  these  efforts. 
No  sooner  was  the  Council  convoked,  than,  as  by  a  divine 
instinct,  the  whole  Catholic  world  looked  for  a  clear  and 
explicit  declaration  upon  a  point  which  the  vast  majority 
of  the  bishops,  and  the  great  mass  of  the  clergy  and  laity, 
believed  to  be  no  longer  open  to  discussion,  but  which, 
nevertheless,  because  it  had  not  been  clearly  defined,  was 
threatening  to  become  a  source  of  division  and  discord  in 
the  church. 

The  discussions  which  took  place  concerning  the  advisa- 
bility of  defining  the  dogma  are  important  only  inasmuch  as 
they  manifest  the  universal  interest  in  the  subject,  and  show 
that  the  declaration  of  the  faith  of  the  church  on  this  point 
was  confidently  looked  for.  In  fact,  everything  else  had 
been  settled.  This  was  the  only  question  which  remained 
to  be  decided.  To  have  recoiled  before  what  men  called  tne 
spirit  of  the  age,  and  to  have  concealed  the  truth  out  of  re- 
spect to  modern  ideas,  would  have  been  to  be  afraid  ;  but 
the  church  has  never  been  afraid. 

A  concession  universally  made  by  the  opponents  of  the 


382  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 


J 


church  is  that  she  is  the  most  logically  consistent  institution 
that  has  appeared  on  the  stage  of  human  action.  No  power^ 
earthly  or  infernal,  has  ever  been  able-  to  make  her  draw  back 
from  the  legitimate  conclusions  from  the  facts  upon  whicK 
she  is  built.  The  Vatican  Council  is  an  example  of  this 
truth.  In  an  age  essentially  democratic,  when  the  spirit  of 
the  time  is  seeking  to  take  away  prestige  and  power  from 
the  individual,  to  give  them  to  humanity  ;  when  the  theory 
of  the  divine  right  of  kings  has  yielded  to  that  of  the  inaliena- 
ble rights  of  the  people  ;  when  the  words  of  even  the  great- 
est thinkers  are  read  in  mere  idle  curiosity  by  minds  that 
have  ceased  to  believe  that  it  is  given  to  man  to  know  the 
truth  ;  in  an  age  which  has  no  faith  in  the  individual,  eveiv 
when  crowned  with  the  tiara  of  virtue,  genius,  and  power^ 
the  church  proclaimed  to  the  world  that  the  Vicar  of  Christ 
is  infallible.  There  seemed  to  be  many  reasons  why  she 
should  not  then,  at  least,  make  this  solemn  declaration.  A 
European  crisis  was  impending  ;  the  temporal  power  of  the 
Pope  was  threatened  ;  at  any  moment  he  might  be  driven 
into  exile  ;  many  Catholics,  eminent  for  virtue  and  learning,, 
seemed  to  doubt  and  hesitate  ;  the  Protestant  and  infidel 
press  of  two  worlds  was  awaiting  in  anxious  expectation 
the  proclamation  of  the  dogma,  that  it  might  shout  with  its 
hundred  mouths  to  the  four  corners  of  the  earth  that  at 
length  the  hands  of  her  own  children  had  signed  the  death- 
warrant  of  the  church  ;  and  yet  the  solemn  promulgation 
was  made,  These  voices  of  the  children  of  time  passed 
unheeded  by  the  ear  of  her  whose  eye,  in  enraptured  gaze^ 
is  fixed  on  eternity. 

Archbishop  Spalding  had  always  believed  in  the  infalli- 
bility of  the  Pope.  This  belief  was  a  tradition  with  the 
Maryland  Catholics,  fostered  and  rendered  stronger  by  the 
Jesuit  fathers,  who  for  so  many  years  were  their  only  reli- 


The   Vatican  Council.  383, 

gious  teachers.  His  fathers  had  taken  this  faith  with  thcni 
to  Kentucky.  It  was  the  doctrine  which  he  had  received 
from  Flaget  and  David.  Neither  the  Cathohcs  of  Maryland 
nor  their  descendants  in  Kentucky  were  tainted  witli  even 
a  tinge  of  GalUcanism.  Indeed,  it  may  be  affirmed  that,  as 
far  as  we  have  a  tradition  in  this  country,  it  is  thoroughly 
orthodox.  It  is  the  special  pride  of  the  American  Church 
that  it  has  not  only  been  faithful  to  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  but 
has  ever  had  for  him  the  tenderest  devotion. 

"  Thank  God,"  wrote  Archbishop  Spalding  to  Cardinal 
Cullen  in  1866,  just  after  the  close  of  the  Second  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore — "  thank  God,  we  are  Roman  to  the 
heart.''  The  confession  of  faith  of  both  the  Plenary  Coun- 
cils of  Baltimore  is  as  full  and  complete  on  this  point  as  it 
was  then  possible  to  make  it.  When,  after  the  convocation 
of  the  Vatican  Council,  the  question,  whether  or  not  it 
would  be  opportune  to  define  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope, 
first  began  to  be  discussed,  Archbishop  Spalding  inclined  to 
the  opinion  that  a  formal  definition  would  be  unnecessary  and 
possibly  inexpedient.  He  thought  that  Gallicanism  was  dead, 
and  that  Catholics  everywhere  believed  in  the  infallibility  of 
the  Holy  See.  Hence,  he  argued,  there  could  be  no  neces- 
sity for  a  formal  definition.  He  believed,  too,  that  much 
time  would  be  consumed  in  conciliary  debate,  in  case  the 
question  of  fixing  the  precise  limits  of  Papal  infallibility 
should  be  submitted  to  the  fathers. 

These  considerations  led  him  to  think  that  the  most 
proper  way  of  proclaiming  the  dogma  of  Papal  infallibility 
would  be  to  condemn  all  errors  opposed  to  it  ;  and  this  was 
his  opinion  when  he  went  to  the  Council.  It  was,  however, 
merely  an  opinion,  formed,  as  he  himself  felt,  without  a 
perfect  knowledge  of  all  the  circumstances  in  the  case,  and 
one  which,  upon  fuller  information,  he  might  sec  cause  to 


384.  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

change.  He  was  not  a  partisan.  He  had  in  him  none  of 
the  stuff  out  of  which  partisans  are  made.  He  was  simply  a 
Catholic  bishop,  who  had  never  belonged  to  a  party  either  in 
the  church  or  out  of  it. 

On  the  27th  of  March,  1869,  eight  months  before  the 
assembling  of  the  Council,  he  wrote  as  follows  to  a  distin- 
guished theologian  who  was  at  that  time  in  Rome : 

"  I  believe /r/zz/y  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope,  but  incline 
to  think  its  formal  definition  unnecessary  and  perhaps  inex- 
pedient, not  only  for  the  reasons  which  you  allege,  but  also 
on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  fixing  the  precise  limits  of 
doctrinal  decisions.  Where  they  are  formal,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  there  is  no  difficulty.  But 
are  all  the  declarations  of  encyclicals,  allocutions,  and  simi- 
lar documents  to  be  received  as  doctrinal  definitions  ? 
And  what  about  the  decisions  of  congregations,  confirmed 
by  the  Pope?  " 

And  again,  in  August,  he  wrote  : 

"  While  maintaining  the  high  Roman  ground  of  ortho- 
doxy, I  caution  much  prudence  in  framing  constitutions." 

In  both  these  letters,  Archbishop  Spalding  seems  to  take 
for  granted  that  a  definition  will  be  made  ;  and  he  simply 
indicates  his  preference  for  an  implicit  rather  than  a  formal 
definition. 

In  August,  1869,  two  months  before  leaving  for  the 
Council,  he  wrote  to  Cardinal  Barnabo,  giving  his  views  on 
various  subjects  which  he  supposed  would  be  brought  before 
the  fathers.  One  of  these  he  designate's  as  "  The  Infalli- 
bility of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  teaching  ex  cathedral  "  I 
have  not,"  he  says,  "  the  least  doubt  of  this  infallibility,  and 
there  are  very  few  bishops  who  do  doubt  of  it.  The  only 
question  which  may,  perhaps,  arise  will  relate  to  the  utility, 
advisability,  and  necessity  of  making  an  explicit  definition  in 


The   Vatica7i  Cormcil.  3S5 

the  Council.  It  will  have  to  be  considered  whether  a  defini- 
tion of  this  kind  would  not  be  likely  to  excite  controversies 
now  slumbering  and  almost  extinct ;  whether  an  implicit 
definition — an  amplification  of  that  of  the  Council  of  Flo- 
rence— which  would  define  the  dogma  without  using  the 
word,  would  not  be  more  opportune  and  of  greater  service 
to  the  cause  of  the  church. 

"  Should  the  fathers  deem  it  expedient  to  make  a  formal 
definition,  its  limits  should  be  accurately  marked,  and,  in  the 
accompanying  doctrinal  exposition,  statement  should  be 
made  whether  and  how  far,  in  the  intention  of  the  fathers, 
this  infallibility  should  be  extended  to  pontifical  letters, 
allocutions,  encyclicals,  bulls,  and  other  documents  of  this 
nature." 

This  letter  affords  sufficient  evidence  that  Archbishop 
Spalding  had  all  along  contemplated  the  contingency  of 
an  explicit  definition,  and  that  he  did  not  look  upon  it 
with  any  alarm.  In  fact,  he  held  that  a  definition,  either 
implicit  or  explicit,  was  necessary.  If  he  did  not,  in  the 
beginning,  advocate  a  formal  definition,  he  was  still  less 
in  favor  of  abstaining  from  the  unmistakable  affirmation 
of  the  faith  of  the  church  on  this  point. 

His  views  with  regard  to  what  was  called  the  opportunity 
of  the  definition  were,  at  the  time  he  left  home  to  go  to  the 
Council,  based  upon  his  knowledge  of  the  state  of  the 
public  mind  in  the  church  of  this  country.  No  one  with 
us  called  in  question  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope :  his 
declarations  had  always  been  received  b\'  the  Catholics 
of  this  country  with  the  greatest  reverence.  Hence,  in 
view  of  what  had  been  the  general  practice  of  the  church, 
he  did  not  see  any  reason  for  making  a  formal  definition 
of  a  dogma  which,  as  he  thought,  was  not  doubted  by 
Catholics. 


o 


S6  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 


Of  the   religious  thought  and  of   the  precise  bearing  of 
the  currents  of  CathoHc  opinion  in  Europe,  he,  of  course^ 
could  not  be  thoroughly  informed,  and  his  views  were  there- 
fore subject  to  the  modifications  which  developments  in  this 
direction  might  produce. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

THE    VATICAN    COUNCIL  —  THE    POSTULATUM     OF     ARCH- 
BISHOP   SPALDING  —  LETTER   TO    BISHOP    DUPANLOUP. 

|HEN  Archbishop  Spalding  arrived  in  Rome,  he 
drew  up  a  Postulatum,  embodying  the  ideas 
which  he  had  advanced  in  his  letter  to  the  Holy 
See,  written  a  few  months  before  the  assem- 
bling of  the  Council.  This  Postulatum,  which  was  entitled 
"  A  Schema  for  the  clear  and  logical  definition  of  the  Infal- 
libility of  the  Roman  Pontiff,  in  accordance  with  the  prin- 
ciples already  received  by  the  Church,"  is  the  one  which^ 
as  I  have  been  informed,  all  the  bishops  of  the  United 
States  had  originally  intended  to  sign.  It  certainly  asserts, 
the  infallibility  of  the  Pope  in  the  most  unmistakable  man- 
ner, and  some  of  the  leaders  of  "  the  opposition  "  objected  ta 
it  that  it  was  even  more  comprehensive  than  would  be 
the  simple  definition 'of  the  Pope's  infallibility.  The  Lon- 
don Tablet  said  that  it  was  evidently  from  the  hand  of  a 
consummate  theologian,  and  was  another  document  prov- 
ing the  universality  of  the  belief  in  the  infallibility  of  the 
Pope. 

The  following  is  a  translation  of  this  Postulatum  : 
"  In  the  chapter  on  the  Roman  Pontiff,  after  condemning, 
in   the   first   place,  the  errors   concerning   his  primacy,  the 
following  or  similar  words  might  be  added  : 

"  *  We  altogether  reprobate  the  temerity  of  those  who 
dare  to  appeal  from  the  judgments  of  the  Sovereign  Pon- 
tiff to  a  general  council. 

"  '  In  the  next  place,  we  wholly  condemn  the  perverse 


388  Life  of  Archbishop   Spalding. 

cavils  of  those  who  presume  to  say  that  external  submis- 
sion, without  the  internal  assent  of  the  mind  and  heart, 
are  to  be  tjiven  to  the  judgments  of  the  Roman  Pontiff. 

"  '  Moreover,  we  utterh^  reject  the  method  of  speaking  and 
teaching  adopted  by  those  who,  imagining  a  rash  and  pre- 
posterous division  between  the  collective  episcopate  and  the 
Supreme  Pontiff,  dispute  as  to  which  of  the  two  is  the 
greater,  and  thus  endeavor  to  separate  and  disjoin  the  head 
from  the  body,  Peter  from  the  church  ;  as  if  an  assembly  of 
brothers,  whom  Peter  is  commanded,  even  in  his  successors, 
to  confirm,  could  ever  be  severed  from  him  whose  faith,  by 
the  promise  of  Christ,  shall  never  fail ;  or  as  if  they  who  are 
to  be  taught  and  confirmed  by  Peter  could  ever  lawfully 
teach  and  confirm  in  opposition  to  him. 

"  '  Nor  do  we  condemn  less  severely  the  opinion  and  mode 
of  action  of  those  who,  in  order  that  they  may  be  able 
more  freely  to  propagate  errors  Condemned  by  the  Roman 
Pontiff,  are  not  ashamed  to  insinuate  that  the  true  sense  of 
the  books  from  which  the  condemned  propositions  have 
been  taken  was  not  rightly  understood  by  him.' 

"  These  propositions  are  further  explained  and  confirmed 
by  what  follows  : 

"  I.  The  bishops  of  nearly  the  whole  Catholic  world,  latel)' 
assembled  in  Rome,  have  shown  these  views  to  be  theirs 
in  the  remarkable  words  in  which  they  addressed  the  hap- 
pily-reigning Sovereign  Pontiff:  '  Your  voice  has  never  been 
silent.  To  announce  to  men  the  eternal  truths  ;  to  strike 
with  the  sword  of  the  apostolic  word  errors  which  attack  at 
once  the  natural  and  the  supernatural  order,  and  threaten 
to  undermine  the  very  foundations  of  authority,  both  civil 
and  ecclesiastical ;  to  dispel  the  darkness  with  which  perverse 
and  recent  doctrines  have  obscured  the  minds  of  men  ;  to 
proclaim  without  fear  ;  to  persuade  and  recommend  whatever 
is  necessary  or  useful  to  the  welfare,  whether  of  individuals, 


The  Postulatitiu  of  .-Irclibishop   Spalding.      389 

or  of  the  Christian  family,  or  of  civil  society — these  are  the 
duties  which  }-ou  have  considered  to  belong  to  your  min- 
istr\'.  that  all  ma}'  be  brought  to  know  what  a  Catholic 
should  believe,  profess,  and  practise.  We  return  thanks  to 
}'our  Holiness  for  this  attentive  solicitude,  for  which  we  shall 
ever  be  grateful ;  and  believing  that  by  the  mouth  of  Pius 
Peter  has  spoken,  whatever  for  the  preservation  of  the  sacred 
deposit  you  have  said,  confirmed,  announced,  we  also  say, 
confirm,  and  announce;  and  with  one  voice  and  heart  we 
reject  whatever  you  have  judged  worthy  of  condemnation, 
as  contrary  to  divine  faith,  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  the 
welfare  of  human  societ^^'  * 

"  2.  For  the  living  and  infallible  authority  exists  only  in 
that  churcli  which,  built  by  Christ  our  Lord  on  Peter,  the 
Head,  Prince,  and  Pastor  of  the  whole  church,  whose  faith  he 
has  promised  shall  never  fail,  has  its  lawful  pontiffs,  descend- 
ing without  intermission  from  Peter  himself,  placed  in  his 
chair,  the  heirs  and  defenders  of  his  doctrine,  dignity,  honor, 
and  power.  And  since  where  Peter  is,  there  is  the  church  ; 
and  he  lives  ever  and  judges  in  his  successors,  and  gives,  to 
them  who  seek,  the  truth  of  faith  :  therefore  the  divine  words 
are  to  be  received  plainly  in  that  sense  which  has  held  and 
still  holds  the  Roman  chair  of  the  blessed  Peter  ;  which, 
mother  and  mistress  of  all  the  churches,  has  ever  preserved 
intact  and  inviolate  the  faith  delivered  by  Christ  our  Lord, 
which  she  has  taught  the  faithful,  showing  to  all  the  way 
of  salvation  and  the  doctrine  of  incorrupt  truth." 

"  (Reasons  why  the  above  Schema  is  thought  to  be  more 
expedient : 

"I.  It  may  be  confidently  hoped  that  a  Schema  o^  this 
nature   would    meet    with   the   approval   of   almost    all    the 

*  These  words  are  takea  from  the  reply  of  the  bishops  to  the  allocution 
of  Pius  IX,  on  the  occasion  of  the  centenary  of  St.  Peter,  July  i,  1867. 
Mcr.rly  five  hundred  bishops  signed  the  address 


390  Life  of  Archbishop   Spalding. 

fathers,  and  would  be  confirmed  by  their  quasi-unanimous 
suffrage ;  for  it  contains  the  certain  and  incontestable  prin- 
ciples of  Catholic  doctrine,  now  received  by  the  universal 
church,  which  all  acknowledge  and  profess,  the  exceptions 
being  so  few  that  no  account  of  them  need  be  taken. 

"  2.  This  full  consent  of  all,  or  at  least  of  nearly  all,  the 
fathers  is  not  only  expedient,  but  seems  to  be  altogether 
required,  when  the  question  is  one  of  defining  a  point  of 
doctrine,  especially  in  a  matter  of  such  importance  that,  if 
this  were  possible,  it  should  be  defined  without  a  dissenting 
voice. 

^'  3.  At  this  present  time,  unanimity  seems  to  be  altogether 
necessary,  on  account  of  rumors  which  have  been  spread 
among  the  people,  and  are  on  all  sides  believed,  to  the  effect 
that,  concerning  this  matter,  there  is  great  discord  among 
the  fathers.  A  definition  unanimously  pronounced  by  the 
fathers  would  utterly  shut  the  mouths  of  those  who  are  now 
so  rashly  boasting,  and  it  would  give  the  greatest  edification 
to  the  church.  In  truth,  we  have  enemies  enough  outside 
the  fold,  without  our  exciting  or  appearing  in  any  way  to 
cherish  dissensions  in  the  very  camp  of  the  church  herself 

"4.  The  proposed  method  of  defining  by  implication,  al- 
though it  be  indirect,  seems  to  excel,  both  in  force  and  sim- 
plicity ;  for  it  is  clearer,  and  perhaps  contains  more  than 
would  a  formal  and  explicit  definition.  The  latter  will  fur- 
nish theologians  with  many  opportunities  of  raising  ques- 
tions. There  will  be  perpetual  discussions  among  them  as 
to  where  and  under  what  circumstances  the  Roman  Pcyitiff 
is  to  be  believed  to  have  addressed  all  the  faithful,  and  to 
have  pronounced  an  infallible  judgment.  All  those  ques- 
tions will  still  remain  undecided  which  hitherto,  even  among 
the  most  pious  defenders  of  the  Pontifical  infallibility,  have 
been  agitated  concerning  the  public  and  the  private  teach- 
ing of   the  Pope,  the  true   meaning  of  the    expression,  ex 


The  Postulatuni  of  Archbishop  Spaldi7ig.     391 

cathedra,  and  the  matters  which  strictly  relate  to  faith  and 
morals.  Perhaps  questions  of  this  kind  will  burst  forth 
with  even  greater  violence,  and  will  be  treated  with  still 
•warmer  feeling. 

"  5.  But  in  the  proposed  Schema  of  definition,  no  express 
•distinction  is  made,  nor  is  any  required;  for  it  joins  the  iner- 
rancy of  the  Roman  Pontiff  with  the  infallibility  of  the 
•church  herself,  and  presents  it  as  a  logical  consequence,  and 
.as  a  corollary  of  the  Primacy  itself;  so  that  the  infallibility 
of  the  church,  and  the  divinely  conferred  Primacy,  are  made 
equally  conspicuous,  and  are  contained  within  the  same 
limits  ;  and  these  principles  of  the  faith  have  been  suffi- 
ciently fixed  and  determined  even  from  the  very  infancy  of 
the  church.  Now,  the  force  of  a  formal  definition  would 
be  extended  to  all  past  ages,  and  would  easily  open  the 
whole  field  of  ecclesiastical  history  and  the  entire  collection 
of  Pontifical  documents  to  the  argumentations  of  theolo- 
gians, and  to  the  now  nearly  extinct  accusations  of  heretics 
and  wicked  men  against  the  Roman  Pontiff." 

Schema  pro  infallibilitate  romani  pontificis  ex  princu'Iis    jam    ab 
ecclesia  universa  receptis  logice  clareque  definienda. 

In  ipso  capite  de  Romano  Pontifice,  dainnatis  prima  loco  erroribus  contra  ejus 
primaUim,  hcec  efsifnilia,  si  p  lac  eat,  adjungi  poterunt  : 

1.  Omnino  reprobamus  eorum  temeritatem,  qui  a  summi  Pontificis 
•supremis  judiciis  ad  concilium  cecumenicum  appellare  audent. 

2.  Deinde  prorsus  damnamus  perversas  eorum  cavillationes,  qui  dicere 
.audent  externum  quidem  obsequium,  non  autem  internum  mentis  cordisque 
assensum  Romani  Pontificis  judiciis  esse  prajstandum. 

3.  Insuper  omnino  improbamus  eorum  loquendi  et  docendi  rationem, 
qui  temeraria  quadam  et  praepostera  divisione  inter  coetum  Episcoporura  et 
summum  Pontificem  excogitata,  disputant  uter  eorum  videatur  esse  major, 
■et  sic  caput  a  corpore,  Petrum  ab  Ecclesia  distrahere  et  sejungere  conantur: 
■quasi  fratrum  ccetus,  quos  Petrus  etiam  in  successoribus  suis  confirmat  ut 

jubetur,  posset  unquam  ab  illo  desciscere,  cujus  fides  ex  Christi  promis- 
«ione  nunquam  deficiet  ;  aut  iis  qui  a  Petro  docendi  sunt  et  confirmandi, 
■ipsum  contra  docere  et  confirmare  liceret. 


392  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

6.  Neque  minus  reprobandum  judicamus  illorum  sententiam  et  agendi 
rationem,  qui,  ut  errores  a  Romano  Pontifice  damnatos  in  vulgus  diffundere 
liberius  valeant  dictitare  non  v^erentur  verum  sensum  librorum,  ex  quibus 
damnatse  hujusmodi  propositxones  excerptse  sunt,  a  Pontifice  baud  rite  intel- 
lectum  fuisse. 

Qiice  quideiu  omnia  illustrantur  conjirinanturqiie  ab  eis  quiB  sequuntur. 

1.  Atque  ita  quidem  sentire  se  luculenter  testatus  est  totius  fere  catholici 
orbis  Episcopatus  nuperrime  Romse  congregatus,  dum  summum  Pontificerr> 
feliciter  regnantem  praeclaris  liisce  verbis  allocutus  est  :  "  Non  enim  unquam 
obticuit  OS  tuum.  Tu  seternas  veritates  annuntiare,  Tu  sseculi  errores  natu- 
ralem  supernaturalemque  rerum  ordinem  atque  ipsa  ecclesiasticae  civilisque 
potestatis  fundamenta  subvertere  minitantes  Apostolici  eloquii  gladio  con- 
figere,  Tu  caliginem  novarum  doctrinarum  pravitate  mentibus  offusam  dis- 
pellere,  Tu  quae  necessaria  ac  salutaria  sunt  tum  singulis  hominibus,  turn 
Christianae  familiae,  tum  civili  societati,  intrepide  affari,  suadere,  commendare 
supremi  Tui  ministerii  es  arbitratus  :  ut  tandem  cuncti  assequantur  quid 
hominem  Catholicum  tenere,  servare,  ac  profiteri  oporteat.  Pro  qua  eximia 
cura  maximas  Sanctitati  Tuae  gratias  agimus,  habituri  sumus  sempiternas  ; 
Petrumque  per  os  Pii  locutum  credentes,  quae  ad  custodiendum  depositum  a 
Te  dicta  confirmata,  prolata  sunt,  nos  quoque  dicimus,  confirmamus,  annun- 
tiamus  ;  unoque  ore  atque  animo  rejicimus,  omnia  quae  divinae  fidei,  saluti 
animarum,  ipsi  societatis  humanze  bono  adversa,  Tu  ipse  reprobanda  ac 
rejicienda  judicasti."* 

2.  Nam  "viva  et  infallibilis  auctoritas  in  ea  tantum  viget  Ecclesia,  quae  a 
Christo  Domino  super  Petrum,  totius  Ecclesiae  caput,  principem  et  pastoremi( 
cuju'S  fidem  nunquam  defuturam  promisit,  aedificata,  suos  legitimes  semper 
habet  Pontifices,  sine  intermissione  ab  ipso  Petro  ducentes  originem  in  ejus 
cathedra  collocates,  et  ejusdem  etiam  doctrinae,  dignitatis,  honoris,  ac  potes- 
tatis haeredes  et  vindices.  Et  quoniam  ubi  Petrus,  ibi  Ecclesia  fac  Petrus 
per  Romanum  Pontificem  loquitur,^  et  semper  in  suis  successoribus  vivit  et 
judicium  exercet.§  ac  praestat  quaerentibus  fidei  veritatem  ;  ||  idcirco  divina 
eloquia  eo  plane  sensu  sunt  accipienda,  quern  tenuit  ac  tenet  haec  Romana 
beatissimi  Petri  cathedra,  quae  omnium  Ecclesiarum  mater  et  magistra,T[ 
fidem  a  Christo  Domino  traditam,  integram  inviolatamque  semper  servavit, 
eamque  fideles  edocuit  omnibus  ostendens  salutis  semitam  et  incorruptae 
veritatis  doctrinam."  ** 

*  Responsio  Episcoporum  ad  SS.  D.  N.  Allocutionem,  in  solemn,  ssec.  Martyrii  SSi 
Petri  et  Pauli,  de  i  Julii,  1S67  ;  cui  Responsioni  subscripseruiit  quingenti  fere  episcopi. 

t  S.  Ambrosius  in  Ps.  xl.  %  Cone  1.  Chalced..  act.  li. 

§  Synodus  Ephes.,  act.  iil.  \  S.  Petrus  Chryso!  ,  in  Epist.  ad  Eutych. 

\  Concil.  Trid.  Ses.  vii.  de  Bapt. 

•*  SS.  D.  N.  Epistola  Encycl..  9  Novemb.,  1846,  a  Goncilio  Baltimorensi  Plenario  IL 
«elata,  in  Decreto  de  Hierarchia,  cap.  ii.  pp.  42,  43. 


The   Post2ilatu})i  of  Archbishop   Spaldi)ig.      393 

Ratioues  ob  quas  schema  supra  proposit:tm  »ia:^is  expcdire  creditor. 

I.  Primo  sperari  tuto  potest,  fore  ut  hujusmodi  schema  Patribiis  quasi 
universis  magis  arrideat,  et  eoruni  unaninii  fere  suffragio  coiifirmctur.  Con- 
liiict  enim  certa  et  inconcussa  doctriir.c  catholicae  principia  jam  in  uiiiversa 
Ecclesia  recepta,  qua3qiie  agnoscunt  et  profitentur  omnes,  paucis  exceptis, 
quonim  numerus  adco  exiguus  est,  ut  ejus  nulla  ratio  habenda  videatur. 

II.  Pleija  hjcc  Patrum  omnium  (vel  saltern  fere  omnium)  consensio  non 
solum  expedit,  sed  omnino  postulari  vidctur,  quando  agitur  de  capite  doc- 
trinae  definiendo  :  pr;csertim  in  re  tanti  momenti ;  qu;e  sane  nemine  (si  id 
fieri  possit)  disscntiente  definiri  deberet. 

III.  Hoc  autem  tempore  ejusmodi  unanimitas  summopere  necessaria 
videtur,  ob  voces  in  vulgus  sparsas  et  ubique  creditas,  quibus  magna  inter 
Patres  hac  de  re  discordia  esse  perhibetur.  Unanimis  Patrum  definitiohos- 
tibus  nostris  sic  temere  gloriantibus  os  penitus  obstrueret,  et  maximam 
Ecclesise  Dei  aedificationem  pareret.  Profecto  satis  hostium  externorum 
habemus,  quin  in  ipsis  Ecclesise  castris  nova  dissidia  excitemus,  vel  uUo 
modo  fovere  videanuir. 

IV.  Propositus  implicite  definiendi  modus,  quamvis  sit  indirectus,  vide- 
tur tamen  tum  vi  tum  simplicitate  praestare.  Clarior  enim  est,ac  pluraforsan 
continet,  quam  detinitio  formalis  et  explicita.  Hsec  enim,plures  cavillandi 
locos  theologis  suppeditabit.  Disceptabitur  perpetuo  inter  eos,  quando  et 
quibus  rerum  adjunctis  Romanus  Pontifex  omnes  Christi  fideles  allocutus 
fuisse  et  infallibile  judicium  protulisse  credendus  sit.  Indecisae  adhuc 
manebunt  omnes  ill^e  qusestiones,  etiam  inter  piissimos  Pontificise  infalli- 
bilitatis  propugnatores  hactenus  agitatae,  de  persona  Pontificis  docentis 
publica  et  privata,  de  vera  locutionis  ex  cathedra  significatione,  de  rebus  quae 
ad  fidem  moresque  vere  spectant.  Imo  violentius  forsan  erumpent  hujus- 
modi quaestiones,  et  longe  majori  animi  contentione  net tractabuntur. 

V.  In  proposito  autem  definiendi  Schemate  nulla  fit  nullaque  requiritur 
distinctio  expressa ;  nam  inerrantiam  Romani  Pontificis  cum  Ecclesiae 
ipsius  infallibilitate  intime  conjungit,  eauique  veluti  logicam  ipsius  prima- 
tus  sequelam  et  veluti  corollarium  exhibet,  adeo  ut  tam  laie  pateat  iisdemque 
limitibus  contineatur  ac  ipsa  Ecclesiae  infallibilitas  ipseque  divinitus  consti- 
tutus  Primatus  ;  qu:c  quidem  fidei  principia  jam  ab  Ecclesiae  ipsius  primor- 
diis  satis  fixa  et  determinata  sunt.  Hujusmodi  igitur  definiendi  ratione, 
ansa  nulla  praebetur  sive  theologis,  sive  fidelibus,  dubitandi  aut  caviliandi 
circa  jussa  et  decreta  S.  Pontificis,  cujus  sapientissiiiio  consilio,  dum  pascit 
tam  agnos  quam  oves,  sicut  decet  filios  erga  Patrem,  omnia  reverenter  et 
amanter  relinquuntur  dirimenda. 

VI-.  Demum  haec  definiendi  ratio,  dum  fixa  quaedum  et  immota  principia 
ubique  recepta  asserit,  simul  hoc  commodi  habet,  ut  non  solum  Christianis 


394  ^^fi  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

.omnibus  infallibilem  in  fidei  morumque  rebus,  nullo  dubitandi  vel  cavillandi 
loco  relicto,  credendi  et  agendi  normam  proponat,  sed  etiam  futurorum 
praecipue  temporum  bono  prospiciat.  Formalisvero  definitio,  cum  vi  sua  ad 
omnia  etiam  retroacta  saecula  protenderetur,  facile  universum  historiae  eccle 
siasticse  campum  totumque  Bullaiium  Theologorum  cavillationibus  et  hse- 
reticorum  impiorumque  adversus  Romanos  Pontifices  criminationibus,' jam 
iere  sopitis,  aperiret. 

This  Postiilatttm,  which  embodies  the  views  that  Arch- 
bishop Spalding  had  held  from  the  time  the  question  first 
began  to  be  agitated,  undoubtedly  contains  a  very  clear 
.and  forcible  affirmation  of  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope.  In 
fact,  Archbishop  Spalding  thought  that  the  terms  therei'n 
employed  would  more  effectually  stop  all  cavil  than  a 
more  formal  definition.  He  advocated  it,  not  as  a  com- 
promise between  those  who  affirmed  and  those  who  denied 
the  infallibility  of  the  Pope,  but  as  the  most  practical  and 
least  objectionable  form  in  which  the  definition  could  be 
drawn  up. 

"  The  present  method,"  he  says,  "  of  defining  by  impli- 
cation, although  it  be  indirect,  seems  to  excel  both  in  force 
and  simplicity ;  for  it  is  clearer,  and,  perhaps,  contains 
more  than  would  a  formal  definition."  And,  in  fact,  this 
was  an  objection  made  to  Archbishop  Spalding's  Postula- 
tuni  by  those  who  opposed  the  introduction  of  the  question 
of  infallibility  into  the  Council.  From  this  Postulatinn,  then-, 
and  from  the  letters  which  he  wrote  to  Rome  before  the  assem- 
bling of  the  Council,  it  is  evident  that  Archbishop  Spalding 
was  opposed  neither  to  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope  nor  to 
the  opportuneness  of  its  definition  by  the  Council,  but  that 
he  favored  a  definition  by  implication  in  preference  to  an 
explicit  affirmation  of  the  dogma. 

It  is  only  in  the  light  of  this  certain  fact  that  the 
rationes  added  to  the  Schema,  which  afterwards  were  so 
prominently  brought  into  the  controversy  on  infallibility, 
may  be  properly  viewed.     They  must  be  taken  in  the  con- 


The  Postulatum  of  Archbishop  Spalding.    395 

nection  in  which  the  author  of  the  Posmlatiim  adduces 
them.  He  brings  them  forward,  not  as  arguments  against 
a  definition  of  Papal  infallibility;  on  the  contrary,  he  urges 
them  as  reasons  for  making  what  he  holds  to  be  a  clear 
and  logical  definition  of  this  dogma.  Others  are  free  to 
think  that  they  prove  more  or  less  than  their  author  in- 
tended they  should  prove ;  but  since  he  in  this  very  docu- 
ment makes  the  clearest  statement  of  what  he  desires  the 
Council  to  define  concerning'the  infallibility  of  the  Pope,  it 
is  simply  absurd  to  seek  by  refinement  of  logical  deductions 
to  make  him  responsible  for  what  he  openly  rejects.  Arch- 
bishop Spalding's  chief  motive,  and  the  only  one  which  in 
his  own  mind  was  of  palmary  importance,  in  favoring  an 
implicit  definition,  was  that  he  thought  a  ScJicuia  of  this 
kind  would  secure  the  unanimous,  or  quasi-unanimous,  vote 
of  the  fathers,  and  thus  prevent  that  of  which  he  naturally 
had  the  greatest  horror,  and  which  he  considered  as  most 
contrary  to  the  spirit  of  Christ  and  the  church — discord  and 
strife.  What  Protestants  would  think  of  the  definition,  or 
how  it  would  be  received  by  what  is  called  the  spirit  of  the 
age,  were  matters  which  did  not  trouble  him.  He  had  lived 
too  long  among  Protestants  and  in  the  breath  of  this  world 
to  be  frightened  by  idle  theories  on  these  subjects. 

A  short  time  after  this  memorial  was  drawn  up,  Arch- 
bishop Spalding  was  made  a  member  of  the  deputation  of 
twelve  cardinals  and  fourteen  prelates,  appointed  by  the 
Holy  Father,  to  whose  judgment  all  Pos'tidata  had  to  be 
submitted  before  they  c'ould  be  brought  befo'rc  the  Council. 
In  this  new  position,  he  felt  that  both  propriety  and 
fairness  should  prevent  him  from  longer  taking  part  in 
movements  to  bring  special  matters  before  the  Council, 
and  he  therefore  abstained  from  taking  further  steps  to 
bring  the  Postidatum  to  the  notice  of  the  Fathers.  It  was, 
however,  looked  upon  as  an  important  document  in  connec- 


396  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

tion  with  the  history  of  the  definition  of  papal  infallibility, 
from  the  fact  that  it  was  generally  thought  to  represent  the 
views  of  a  considerable  number  of  the  bishops  of  the  Coun- 
cil, who  were  called  "  the  third  party."  As  the  controversy 
on  the  opportuneness  of  defining  the  infallibility  waxed 
warmer,  and  as  those  who  were  adverse  became  more  deter- 
mined in  their  opposition,  they  sought  to  force  "  the  third 
party,"  or  those  who  were  in  favor  of  an  implicit  definition, 
to  pronounce  openly  for  their  side,  since  the  project  of 
definition  by  implication  had  fallen  through. 

The  famous  brochure,  Ce  qui  se  passe  an  Coiicile,  which 
appeared  in  May,  after  the  assembling  of  the  Council,  thus 
speaks  of  what  was  called  "  the  third  party  "  :  "  They  know 
now  that  their  separation  from  the  minority,  far  from  serving 
the  cause  of  moderation,  has  seriously  compromised  it  ;  by 
their  concessions,  they  have  only  emboldened  the  extremists, 
without  having  been  able  to  restrain  them,  and  without  even 
having  obtained  respect  for  their  own  opinions.  The  situa- 
tion is  critical.  They  (the  third  party)  hold  within  their 
hands  the  fate  of  the  Council.  What  will  they  do  ?  We 
shall  be  greatly  surprised  should  these  wise  prelates  permit 
to  mature  in  silence  the  events  which  threaten  us,  the  irre- 
parable calamity  of  which  they  would  be  the  first  to  de- 
plore." * 

Bishop  Dupanloup,  in  his  reply  to  Archbishop  Dechamps, 
dated  March  i,  1870,  repeatedly  makes  use  of  t\\Q  ratio nes 
of  the  Postidatitm  of  Archbishop  Spalding  to  prove  that 
the  bishops,  whose  views  this  Postulatiim  embodied,  were  or 
should  be  opposed  to  the  definition  of  the  infallibility  of 
the  Pope.  Now,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  Archbishop 
Spalding,  in  his  Postulatwn,  expressly  demands  the  definition 
of  Pontifical  infallibility.  The  document  was  drawn  up,  in 
fact,  under  the  firm  persuasion  that  the  infallibility  of  the 

*  Page  122. 


Letter  to  Bishop  Diipanlottp.  397 

Pope  would  be  defined  by  the  Council.  The  only  question 
which  its  author  considered  open  to  discussion  was  whether 
the  definition  should  be  formal  or  implied.  The  rationes 
annexed  to  the  Postulatuui  were,  indeed,  intended  to  con- 
clude against  an  explicit  definition  ;  but  they  were  not 
advanced  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  the  Council 
should  abstain  from  defining  the  dogma  of  Papal  infalli- 
bility. Hence,  to  urge  them  when  the  question  had  been 
narrowed  down  to  an  explicit  definition,  or  none  at  all,  was 
carrying  them  beyond  the  purpose  for  which  they  had  been 
drawn  up. 

It  did  not  follow  that  Archbishop  Spalding,  because  he 
was  in  favor  of  a  definition  by  implication,  should  prefer  no 
definition  to  a  formal  one. 

He  felt  that  the  use  which  had  been  made  of  the 
rationes  would  tend  to  place  him  in  a  false  position,  and  he 
had  no  thought  of  being  made  to  assume  whatever  attitude 
might  best  suit  the  purposes  of  the  verbal  fencers  who 
were  waging  war  at  the  doors  of  the  Council.  He  therefore, 
on  the  4th  of  April,  1870,  addressed  a  letter  to  Bishop  Du- 
panloup,  of  which  the  following  is  a  translation  : 

"  My  Lord  : 

"  In  a  letter  which  your  lordship  has  just  written  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Malines,  you  do  me  an  honor  for  which  I 
cannot  thank  you.  You  quote  repeatedly  a  PostulatuDi 
which,  in  concert  with  many  of  my  venerable  colleagues, 
I  deemed  it  my  duty  to  present  to  the  Council  at  a  time 
when  the  question  of  Pontifical  infallibility  was  far  from  the 
deeree  of  maturitv  at  which  it  has  now  arrived.  While 
several  bishops,  entirely  devoted  to  the  Holy  See,  still 
doubted  whether  it  was  opportune  to  introduce  this  ques- 
tion, we  asked,  in  our  Postulatuui,  that  it  should  be  defined 
in  such   a  manner  as  to  obtain  the  concurrence  of  all   the 


398  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding:. 

members  of  the  august  assembly.  But  your  ci'tatiorrs  are 
so  arranged  as  to  lead  your  readers  to  suppose  that  we  are 
averse,  if  not  to  the  truth,  at  least  to  the  opportuneness,  of 
this  definition  ;  and,  consequently,  to  class  us  with  what 
certain  journals  choose  to  call  the  '  party  of  the  opposition ' 
in  the  Council.  Your  lordship,  it  is  true,  does  not  consider 
our  opposition  sufficiently  decided,  and,  after  having  availed 
yourself  of  our  proposition  in  every  part  of  your  letter,  youi 
finally  throw  it  aside  as  people  fling  away  a  weapon  whichi 
is  no  longer  serviceable.  This  mode  of  action  is  no  doubt 
very  flattering  to  us  ;  but  it  does  not  prevent  your  lordship- 
from  attempting  to  place  us  among  your  allies — a  character 
which  we  feel  compelled  to  repudiate.  There  is  no  justifica- 
tion for  the  effort  which  has  been  made  to  represent  us  as- 
opposed  to  the  plain  and  honest  declaration  of  the  general 
belief  of  the  church  with  respect  to  the  infallibility  of  the- 
Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  fifth  paragraph  of  our  rationes 
expresses  the  faith  of  the  subscribers  on  this  subject  in  a. 
manner  which  leaves  no  room  for  doubt.  In  our  project  of 
definition,  we  intimately  unite  the  infallibility  of  the  Romart 
Pontiff  with  the  infallibility  of  the  church,  and  we  propose 
the  first  as  a  logical  consequence  and  corollary  of  the  Primacy ^ 
in  such  sort  that  it  extends  as  far  as,  and  acknowledges  no- 
other  limits  than,  the  infallibility  of  the  church  and  the 
divinely  constituted  Primacy  itself,  which  are  principles  of 
faith,  fixed  and  determined  from  the  very  origin  of  Chris- 
tianity. We  believe,  then,  that  this  mode  of  definition  has- 
the  advantage  that  it  furnishes  no  pretext,  either  to  theolo- 
gians or  the  faithful,  of  doubting  or  disputing  about  the- 
commands  and  decrees  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  to  whose 
most  wise  sentence,  by  which  the  sheep  as  well  as  the  lambs- 
are  guided,  everything  must  be  lovingly  and  reverently  com- 
mitted, as  becomes  children  in  their  relations  with  a  father."  *" 
*In  our  Schema,   we   also   quoted  a  most    signiticant  passage  from   the. 


Letter  to  BisJiop  Diipanloiip.  399 

"  Such,  my  lord,  was  the  sole  design  of  those  who  drew  uj> 
the  Postiilattim,  so  incorrectly  interpreted  by  you.  Their 
intention  was  not  to  hide  the  light  under  a  bushel,  or  to 
put  a  veil  over  the  belief  of  the  church.  They  desired,  on 
the  contrary,  to  find  a  mode  of  definition  which  should 
guard  this  belief  from  every  attack,  and  obtain  for  it,  both 
from  pastors  and  people,  a  more  unanimous  adhesion.  They 
had  thought  that  this  end  might  be  attained  by  fixing  the 
doctrine  of  infallibility  practically  and  in  concrete,  rather 
than  by  affirming  it  in  an  abstract  formula.  They  proposed^ 
therefore,  to  define — 

"  I.  That  no  appeal  from  the  judgments  of  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  is  lawful. 

"  2.  That  every  Christian  is  bound  to  give  to  these  deci- 
sions interior  assent,  and  not  merely  respectful  silence. 

"  3.  That  Gallicanism,  by  separating  the  body  of  bishops 
from  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  and  giving  to  them  the  right  to 
reform  his  judgments,  destroys  the  order  established  by 
Jesus  Christ,  according  to  which  Peter  is  to  confirm  his 
brethren,  and   not  to  receive  confirmation   from   them. 

"  4.  That  the  decisions  of  the  Pope  are  not  less  sovereign 


address  presented  to  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  by  the  five  hundred  bishops 
assembled  in  Rome  at  the  centenary  of  St.  Peter.  Your  lordship  cannot 
have  forgotten  this  address,  which  you  helped  to  compose;  and  I  ask 
myself,  with  surprise,  how  you  can  to-day  think  it  inopportune  to  define  a 
doctrine  which,  at  least  in  substance,  was  so  loudly  proclaimed  on  that  so- 
lemn occasion.  Finally,  to  remove  the  possibility  of  doubt  as  to  our  past  or 
present  belief,  we  quoted  a  decree  of  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Balti- 
more, in  which,  adopting  a  sentence  from  the  first  encyclical  of  Pius  IX., 
the  American  episcopate  declares  that  it  recognizes  no  living  and  infallible 
authority,  except  in  that  church  which  was  built  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
upon  Peter,  Chief,  Prince,  and  Pastor  o  the  universal  church,  to  whom  he 
promised  that  his  faith  should  never  fail.  Is  it  not  strange  that  any  one 
should  attempt  to  represent  as  inopportunists  in  Rome,  bishops  who  in  theii 
own  country  have  already  promulgated  such  a  decree? 


400  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

in  the  declaration  of  dogmatic  facts  than  in  the  determina- 
tion of  purely  doctrinal   questions. 

"  Each  of  the  four  propositions  here  enumerated  evidently 
implies  infallibility,  and  it  is  therefore  an  entire  miscon- 
struction of  the  thought  of  those  who  solicited  this  solemn 
definition  to  represent  them  as  favorable  to  the  opinion  of 
the  inopportunists.  And  it  must  be  added,  my  lord,  that  it 
is  not  my  doctrine  alone  that  your  letter  presents  under  a 
form  so  remote  from  the  truth.  In  a  note  furnished  to  you, 
you  tell  us,  by  a  learned  theologian,  belonging  to  an  illus- 
trious order,  you  quote  a  certain  number  of  writers  as 
sharing  your  opinion,  and  among  them  you  place  my  vener- 
able predecessor  in  the  see  of  Baltimore,  the  Most  Rev. 
Francis  P.  Kenrick.  I  know  not  what  your  other  citations 
may  be  worth  ;  and,  if  I  may  believe  persons  who  have 
found  leisure  to  verify  them,  your  lordship,  in  accepting 
them  blindly,  has  been  the  dupe  of  a  too  great  confidence. 
What  I  can  affirm  is  this :  that  it  is  impossible,  without 
injustice,  to  attribute  to  Archbishop  Kenrick  a  doctrine  at 
variance  with  that  of  the  immense  majority  of  Catholic 
doctors.  In  his  Dogmatic  Theology,  that  prelate  has  a 
special  article,  entitled  Dc  Dcfinitionibiis  Pontificiis,  in  which 
he  is  not  content  with  declaring  his  belief  in  the  infallibility 
of  such  definitions,  but  refutes,  with  a  conciseness  which  in 
no  way  impairs  the  triumphant  vigor  of  his  replies,  the 
objections  which  both  the  earlier  and  later  Galileans  have 
drawn  from  the  facts  in  the  history  of  Liberius,  Honorius, 
and  other  Pontiffs.* 

"  You  will,  no  doubt,  be  surprised,  my  lord,  that  a  learned 
theologian,  belonging  to  an  illustrious  order,  should  have 
allowed  himself  so  palpable  a  perversion  of  the  truth  in 
connection  with  a  work  which  we  all  have  in  our  hands  ;  and 
this  may  lead  you  to  suspect  that   there  is  a  school  of  falsi 

*  Tract,  dc'  Ecch's.  de    Tril'Uiiali  Doct.,  p.  240,  Mech. 


Lettei"  to  DisJiop  Dupaiiloup.  401 

fication,  quite  other  than  that  which  defends  Pontifical  infal- 
libihty.  One  correction  more,  and  I  shall  conclude.  Your 
lordship  turns  to  good  account  that  passage  of  our  memorial 
in  which  we  express  the  desire  that  the  definition  of  the 
doctrinal  sovereignty  of  the  Pope  should  be  pronounced 
with  perfect  unanimity — qiice  sane  fieniine,  si  id  fieri  possit, 
dissenticnte,  definiri  deberet. 

"  The  word  deberet^  which  you  write  in  capital  letters,  you 
translate  by  il  faiit,  and  you  remark  that  this  is  the  strict 
sense  of  the  word,  which  does  not  signify,  you  say,  it  ivoiild 
be  desirable  or  preferable  ;  but,  it  must.  The  signers  of  the 
memorial  are  thus  transformed  by  your  lordship  into  decided 
advocates  of  the  new  theory,  according  to  which  unanimity 
is  required  for  the  validity  of  doctrinal  definitions. 

"  We  earnestly  protest  against  such  an  interpretation  of  our 
thoughts,  and  to  reject  it  there  is  no  need  of  our  invoking 
tradition,  so  plainly  contrary  to  the  theory  which  you  impute 
to  us;  nor  need  we  trouble  ourselves  to  prove  to  you  that 
such  a  theory  involves  nothing  less  than  the  destruction  of 
the  authority  of  the  church  ;  it  is  enough  for  us  to  appeal  to 
grammar.  Though  I  am  far  from  pretending  to  compare 
myself  with  your  lordship  in  the  knowledge  of  French,  I 
think  I  may  venture  to  affirm  that  the  indicative  absolute — 
il  faut — has  not,  in  that  language,  the  sense  of  the  Latin 
■optative,  deberet ;  especially  when  this  optative  is  still  further 
softened  by  various  attenuating  phrases — si  fieri  possit,  vide- 
iur,  etc.  It  seems  to  me  plain  that  if  we  are  to  choose 
between  the  two  translations  indicated  by  your  lordship — 
//  must,  or  it  zuould  be  desirable — that  precisely  which  )'ou 
reject  is  the  one  which  ought  to  be  preferred,  as  by  far  the 
more  exact. 

"  Such,  indeed,  is  our  thought.  It  seems  to  us  most 
desirable,  and  more  necessary  than  ever  in  the  present  cir- 
cumstances, that  in  all  the  acts  of  the  Council,  especially  in 


402  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

that  which  is  most  fought  against,  the  CathoHc  episcopate 
should  present  itself  to  the  world— to  believers  as  to  unbe- 
lievers— surrounded  with  the    glory    and  clothed  with    the 
strength  which  unanimity  gives.     But  from  the  necessity  of 
this  accord,  it  has  never  entered  our  minds  to  conclude  that 
the  majority  is  bound  to  yield  to  the  minority.     We  sought 
rather  to  remove  the  obstacles  created,   much  less  by  the 
substance  than  by  the  form  of  the  question,  which  hindered 
the   minority  from   agreeing  with  the   majority.     We   have 
reason   to  believe  that  our  efforts  have  not  been  fruitless. 
Our  project,  it  is  true,  was  not  accepted  by  the  Commission^ 
which  put  it  aside,  with  all  the  others  that  had  been  pre- 
sented, and  drew  up  a  new  one.     Though  its  adoption  was 
not  urged  with  the  instance  with  which  others  have  been 
pushed,  the  one  which  we  composed  has  helped  not  a  little 
to  bring  together  several  members  of  the  Council,  and  tCK 
prepare  the  happy  accord  of  which  everything  leads  us  to- 
hope   for  the  approaching  consummation.     We    have    not, 
indeed,  succeeded,  according  to  our  earnest  desire,  in  pre- 
venting the  digging  up  of  materials  from  the  history  of  the 
past  for  scandalous  discussions.     Rash  men  have  recklessly 
provoked  these  scandals,  and  have  thus  rendered  useless  the 
measures  of  conciliation  which  we  had  suggested.     But  per- 
haps there  is  no  reason  why  we  should  complain  very  much 
of  this.    The  discussion  of  the  truth  has  been  rendered  more- 
searching,  and   its   complete   manifestation   by  the  Council 
less  difficult.     Already  the  question  of  opportuneness  may- 
be considered  settled  ;  and  we  have  every  reason  to  believe 
that,  when  the  Council  shall  be  invited  to  pronounce  upoiii 
the  doctrine   itself,   its  decision  will   be   fortified  with  that 
moral  unanimity  which  we  continue  to  regard  as  most  use- 
ful.    What  is  certain,  my  lord,  is  that  all  of  us,  whether  we 
have  signed  the  various  postulata,  or  have  abstained  from 
doing  so,  have  henceforth  but  two  courses  before  us — we 


Letter  to  Bishop  Dupariloup.  405 

must  place  ourselves  squarely  either  on  the  sidq  of  the 
Pope  or  on  that  of  his  opponents.  The  Catholic  episco- 
pate has  long  since  made  its  choice  ;  and  the  fathers  of  the 
Vatican,  by  proclaiming  as  an  article  of  faith  the  duty  of 
never  separating  from  the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  will  walk 
in  the  footsteps  of  their  predecessors.  With  the  grace  of 
God,  I  shall  never  stray  from  the  glorious  paths  in  which 
our  young  church  of  America  has  followed  up  to  this  hour 
with  unshaken  fidelity  ;  and  it  is  in  order  to  render  all  doubt 
as  to  my  resolution  in  this  matter  impossible  that  I  think  it 
my  duty  publicly  to  repudiate  the  false  impressions  which 
may  have  been  made  by  your  letter.  It  had  been  my  inten- 
tion to  wait  for  the  discussion  in  Council  before  making  this 
protest  ;  but  when  I  saw  the  increasing  number  of  writings,. 
of  a  nature  to  disturb  the  faith  of  Christians,  I  considered 
that  it  became  the  duty  of  the  chief  pastors  to  prepare  their 
flocks  to  accept  with  hearty  obedience  the  decisions  of  the 
Council.  I  should  regard  it  as  the  greatest  misfortune  of 
my  life  to  have  contributed  in  any  way  to  encourage  everc 
one  of  my  brethren  to  falter  in  perfect  obedience  to  the 
authority  of  the  church.  In  associating  me,  in  spite  of 
myself,  in  your  own  struggles  against  a  definition  which  has 
now  become  inevitable,  your  lordship  burdens  me  with  a 
portion  of  that  frightful  responsibility  which  nothing  can 
induce  me  to  accept,  and  thus  imposes  upon  me  the  neces- 
sity of  making  a  public  statement  of  my  personal  conviction. 
But  in  performing  this  duty  of  conscience,  I  am  not  the 
less,  my  lord,  your  lordship's  respectful  and  devoted  ser- 
vant, »fi  Martin  John   Spalding, 

"  Archbishop  of  Baltimore." 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

THE  DEFINITION  OF  PAPAL  INFALLIBILITY  NOT  ONLY 
OPPORTUNE,  BUT  NECESSARY  —  DEVOTION  OF  THE 
AMERICAN    CHURCH    TO    THE    HOLY    SEE. 

RCHBISHOP  SPALDING  had,  as  I  have  already 
stated,  favored  an  implicit  definition  of  Papal 
infallibility,  chiefly  because  he  thought  such  a 
definition  would  receive  the  quasi-unanimous 
vote  of  the  fathers,  and  preclude  all  danger  from  the  agita- 
tion of  les  questions  irritantes,  which  had  been  held,  like  the 
sword  of  Damocles,  over  the  head  of  the  Council. 

At  the  time  the  letter  to  Bishop  Dupanloup  was  written, 
four  months  had  elapsed  since  llie  assembling  of  the  bishops 
and  the  via  media  had  failed  to  accomplish  the  result  hoped 
for  by  those  who  had  advocated  it,  and  affairs  had  taken 
such  a  shape  that,  as  Archbishop  Spalding  said,  but  two 
courses  lay  before  the  bishops — either  to  place  themselves 
openly  on  the  side  of  the  Pope  or  on  that  of  the  opposition. 
Not  a  few  events  had  occurred  in  the  meantime  which  were 
not  without  a  very  significant  bearing  upon  the  question  of 
opportuneness.  Undercurrents  of  thought,  especially  in  Ger- 
many, but  also  in  France  and  in  other  parts  of  the  world, 
which  had  hitherto  escaped  the  notice  of  all  except  the  very 
observant,  had  been  brought  to  the  surface  by  the  assem- 
bling of  the  Council.  Qui  assemble  le  pe^iple,  V ^meiit,  says  a 
French  proverb,  and  the  church  was  agitated  by  the  gather- 
ing together  of  its  representatives  from  every  part  of  the 
world. 

As  the  winds  of  heaven  trouble  the  waters  of  the  ocean  even 
till  they  rise  in  rage  and  fury,  and  then  pillow  themselves 


DcJinitio7t  of  Papal  Infallibilify.  405 

upon  their  tranquil  bosom,  cleansed  of  "the  perilous  stuff," 
so  these  conflicts  brought  to  the  surface  some  things  wliich 
had  to  be  swept  away,  and  whicli,  but  for  the  agitation 
occasioned  b\-  tlie  assembling  of  the  Council,  might  have 
continued  unnoticed  to  eat  their  wa\^  like  a  canker  to  the 
Catholic  heart.  God,  it  is  true,  is  not  in  the  storm  or  in  the 
whirlwind,  but  these  had  to  pass  by  before  the  divine  calm 
of  his  presence  could  be  felt.  Writings  had  appeared  in 
Germany  and  France,  under  the  authority  and  patronage  of 
great  names,  the  tendency  of  which  was  to  destroy,  not 
merely  faith  in  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope,  but  all  respect 
for  the  Papacy.  One  could  almost  catch  the  feeble  echoes 
of  Luther's  rude  phraseology. 

As  the  pseudo-reformers  of  the  sixteenth  century  repre- 
sented the  church  as  wholly  corrupt,  these  illmninati  of  our 
day  represented  her  as  ignorant.  The  old  spirit  of  nation- 
alism, as  opposed  to  Catholicism,  cropped  out  in  rude  and  un- 
inviting forms.  The  scientific  pride  of  Germany,  and  what 
was  supposed  to  be  the  military  hegemony  of  France,  who 
loved  to  fight  only  for  ideas,  gave  infinite  confidence  to  the 
German  and  French  opponents  of  the  definition.  The  Ger- 
man science  to  which  they  appealed  was  as  complete  a  sham 
as  the  military  power  of  France  proved  to  be  a  few  months 
later.  It  would  be  impertinent,  I  know,  in  any  man  to  say 
aught  against  the  solid  learning  of  Germany ;  but  there  existed 
in  that  country  before  the  Council  a  school  of  what  was  sup- 
posed to  be  Catholic  theology,  but  which  was,  in  reality,  an 
impossible  rationalism,  which  but  imperfectly  succeeded  in 
concealing  itself  beneath  the  forms  of  Catholic  phraseology. 
The  leaders  in  this  school  of  thought  held  in  self-com- 
placent vainglory  that  "  German  science,"  represented  by 
them,  was  the  onl)-  science  ;  that  the  lamp  of  theological 
knowledge  had  been  removed  from  Italy,  and  burned  now 
in  Germany  alone  ;   that   the  mantle  of  the  prophets  under 


4o6  Life  of  ArcJibishop  Spalding. 

the  old  law  had  fallen  upon  the  scientific  theologians,  whose 
office  it  had  become  to  mould  the  public  opinion  of  the 
church,  to  which  her  doctrinal  decisions  would  be  forced  to 
conform.* 

The  central  point  around  which  the  varying  shades  of 
opinion  of  this  party  were  grouped  was  that  which  forms 
the  only  bond  of  sympathy  among  the  sects — antipathy  to 
Rome  and  the  successor  of  Peter,  the  representative  of 
Catholic  unity.  The  brilliant  talents  and  great  learning  of 
some  of  these  men  had  succeeded  in  winning  for  them  dis- 
ciples in  France  and  England,  and  possibly  elsewhere,  the 
tendency  of  whose  writings  was  very  hurtful  to  the  sound- 
ness of  Catholic  faith.  The  assembling  of  the  Vatican 
Council  revealed  many  things  in  this  connection  which 
must  have  been  quite  new  to  bishops  who  had  passed  their 
lives  in  the  arduous  missionary  duties  of  the  United  States, 
where  Catholics  have  never  known  any  other  feeling  toward 
the  Pope  than  that  of  filial  love.  They  at  once  saw  that 
Gallicanism  was  not  wholly  dead,  or  that,  if  dead,  it  had 
been  succeeded  by  a  species  of  rationalistic  nationalism, 
which  was  far  worse.  And — what  could  as  little  lay  claim 
to  the  sympathies  of  American  bishops— the  attempt  was 
made  to  induce  the  governments  of  Europe  to  interfere 
to  prevent  the  definition.     At  the  instigation  of  some  of 

*  Dr.  DoUinger,  in  his  lectures  on  tlie  Reunion  of  the  Churches,  recently 
published,  toward  the  close  of  the  seventh  and  last  lecture  makes  the  fol- 
lowing statement  : 

"  I  have  found  it  the  almost  universal  conviction  in  foreign  countries 
that  it  is  the  special  mission  of  Germany  to  take  the  lead  in  this  world-wide 
question  [the  fusion  of  the  Catholic,  Greek  schismatic,  and  Protestant 
■churches  into  one],  and  give  to  the  movement  its  form,  measure,  and  direc- 
t'on.      IVt  are  the  heart  of  Europe,  richer  in  theologians  than  all  other  lands." 

Hannibal  ChoUop  says  to  Mark  Tapley  :  "  We  are  a  model  to  the  airth, 
,  .  .  We  are  tlie  intellect  and  virtue  of  the  airth,  the  cream  of  human 
natur',  and  the  flower  of  moral  force." — Vide  Dublin  Review  for  January 
1873,  p.  207. 


DeJi7iition  of  Papal  hifallibility.  407 

the  leaders  of  the  German  "  scientific  theologians,"  the 
Bavarian  Government,  through  Prince  Hohenlohe,  had 
begun  a  systematic  agitation  against  the  Council,  in  order 
to  induce  the  European  powers  to  agree  upon  some  plan  by 
which  the  definition  of  the  infallibilit}^  of  the  Pope  might 
be  prevented.  The  avowed  aim  of  the  well-known  Janus 
■publication  was  to  rouse  the  civil  governments  against  the 
Council. 

After  Prince  Hohenlohe's  note  to  the  various  so-called 
Catholic  governments,  the  Spanish  minister,  Olozaga,  threat- 
■ened  the  church  with  the  hostility  of  a  league  to  be  formed 
by  France,  Italy,  Portugal,  Spain,  and  Bavaria.  General 
Menabrea  addressed  a  circular  to  his  diplomatic  agents,  pro- 
posing to  the  powers  to  prevent  the  assembling  of  the 
Council,  on  the  ground  of  their  not  having  been  invited  to 
it.  A  joint  despatch  was  sent  by  Prince  Hohenlohe  and  the 
Italian  Government  to  their  representatives  in  France,  urg- 
ing the  withdrawal  of  the  French  troops  from  Rome  during 
the  Council,  to  insure  freedom  of  deliberation. 

After  the  Council  assembled,  Count  Daru,  the  French 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Holy 
-See,  with  a  view  to  prevent  the  definition  ;  Von  Beust,  the 
Protestant  Chancellor  of  Austria,  sought  to  bring  his  influ- 
ence to  bear  in  the  same  direction  ;  and  their  example  was 
followed,  more  or  less  openly,  by  most  of  the  other  govern- 
ments of  Europe. 

When  Archbishop  Spalding  saw  this  alliance  of  the  liberal 
or  rationalistic  Catholics  with  the  governments  of  Europe 
for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  definition  of  what,  he 
held,  had  always  been  the  faith  of  the  church,  he  con- 
sidered, as  he  says  in  his  letter  to  Bishop  Dupanloup,  the 
•question  of  opportuneness  at  an  end.  The  opposition  had 
created  the  opportuneness,  and  had  made  the  definition 
.necessary.     The    church    defines    the    truths    of    revelation 


4o8  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

when  they  are  denied,  and  the  hour  had  come  when  she 
could  no  longer  remain  silent  upon  this  all-important  article 
of  faith.  '^ Error,  ciii  non  resistitnr,  approbatiir,  et  Veritas r 
aim  non  defcnditur ,  opprimetnr.'"  "  If  the  Gnosticism," 
says  Archbishop  Manning,'"  of  what  has  well  been  called 
the  Professordom  of  Germany  had  been  allowed  to  spread 
its  mixture  of  conceited  illuminism  and  contemptuous' 
rationalism  for  a  few  years  longer,  the  faith  of  multitudes- 
might  have  been  irremediably  lost;  and  Germany,  which 
now  presents  the  noblest  fidelity  and  constancy  in  its  epis- 
copate, in  its  priesthood,  and  in  its  laity,  might  have  been  a 
prey  to  the  Old  Catholic  schism,  or  to  the  tyrannical  liberal- 
ism of  those  who  deify  the  civil  power."  * 

Still  another  phase  of  the  question  had  been  revealed  by 
the  opposition.  Though  scarcely  one  of  the  bishops  of  the 
Council  had  opposed  the  definition  for  any  other  reason  than 
that  of  inexpediency,  yet  the  arguments  which  had  been 
employed  to  establish  this,  had  they  been  conclusive,  would 
have  had  a  much  wider  bearing. 

"  The  historical  difficulties,"  which  were  made  to  bear  the 
heat  and  brunt  of  the  battle  on  the  side  of  the  inopportu- 
nists,  had  they  been  of  any  value,  would  have  proved,  not 
only  that  it  was  inopportune  to  define  the  infallibility  of  the 
Pope,  but  that  it  was  impossible  to  define  it,  since  popes 
had  erred  in  what  must  be  considered  as  ex  catJiedra  defini- 
tions. What  other  conclusion  was  it  possible  to  draw  from 
the  inopportunist  interpretation  of  the  facts  in  the  cases  of 
Popes  Liberius,  Honorius,  Pascal  II.,  and  others?  When 
the  controversy  had  assumed  this  shape,  the  Council  was 
forced  either  to  declare  the  Pope  infallible,  or  by  its  silence 
to  admit  that  he  was  not  infallible  ;  because,  de  facto,  he  had 
been  guilty  of  error  in  the  past.     Here,  again,  the  opposi- 

*  Sermons  on  Eccles.  Sub.,  vol  iii.,  Introxiuct.,  p.  39. 


Dcfijiition  of  Papal  Infallibility.  409 

tion  had  created,  not  only  the  opportuneness,  but  the  neces- 
sity of  the  definition. 

To   that   portion  of    his  letter  to  Bishop    Dupanloup  in 
which  he  spoke  of  the  unswerving  devotion  of  the  church 
of  the    United   States   to   the  Vicar  of  Christ,  Archbishop 
Spalding  added  the  following  note  :  "  If  a  special  duty  of 
gratitude  obliges  all  the  churches  of  the  West  to  unbounded 
devotion  to  the  Holy  See,  to  which  they  owe  all  their  privi- 
leges and  their  very  existence,  there  is  not  one  of  them  all 
which  may  be  less  permitted  to  forget  this  duty  than  the 
church  of  the   United   States,   which    but    yesterday  came 
forth  from  the  maternal  and  ever-fruitful  bosom  of  the  Church 
of  Rome.     We  were  accordingly  most  happy,  on   the  occa- 
sion of  a  recent  visit  of  the  Holy  Father  to  the  American 
College  of  the   North,  to  assure  him,  in  the  name  of  our 
venerable  brothers,  who  surrounded  us,  of  our  lively  grati- 
tude and  entire  devotion  to  the  Papacy.      The  acts  of  all 
our  Councils,  said  we,  and  the  letters  addressed  to  your  Holi- 
ness and  to  your  predecessors  by  the  episcopate  of  our  coun- 
try, are  evidence  that  we  have  always  made  profession  of 
the  greatest  respect  and  the  most  ardent  love  for  the  suc- 
cessor of  Peter.     We  have  ever  remained  united  with  the 
chair  of  Peter,  and  nothing  can  separate  us  from  it.     And 
how  could  this  not  be,  since  from  the  very  rise  of  religion  in 
our  country  we  have  been  watched  over  by  the  Sovereign 
Pontiffs  with  a  constant  and  truly  paternal  solicitude  ?     For 
the  rest,  our  veneration  and   our  filial  obedience  have  been 
abundantly  blessed  of  God  ;   and  under  our  eyes  the  pro- 
mise  of  the    Holy   Ghost  is  fulfilled — '  The  obedient  man 
shall  recount  his  victories.'     Sixty  years  ago,  there  was  but 
one  bishop  in  the  United  States  ;  to-day  we  have  sixty  dio- 
ceses   and    vicariates    apostolic.      To   popes   who   bore  the 
name  of  Pius  our  church  is  especially  indebted  for  its  pro- 
gress.    Pius  VI.  gave  it   its  first  bishop  ;    Pius  VII.    estab- 


4 1  o  Life  of  A  rcJi  b  is  hop  Spa  I  ding. 

lished  the  hierarchy  and  constituted  the  first  ecclesiastical 
province;  Pius  IX.  to  this  first  province  has  added  six 
others.  Pius  has  planted  ;  we  have  watered  the  vineyard 
according  to  the  measure  of  our  strength  ;  and  God  has 
given  the  increase. 

"  The  sentiments  which  we  expressed  on  this  occasion 
had  been  proclaimed  with  much  more  solemnity  and  with 
greater  authority  in  the  various  Acts  of  the  Second  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore,  and  especially  in  the  letter  to  Pius 
IX.,  signed  by  the  seven  archbishops  of  the  United  States 
in  the  name  of  all  their  suffragans.  Let  it  suffice  to  quote 
the  final  sentence  of  this  letter,  in  which  the  fathers  of  the 
Council  '  su-bmit  their  decrees  to  the  examination  and  cor- 
rection of  the  Holy  Father,  resolved  to  recognize  his  voice 
as  the  voice  of  Peter  speaking  to  them  by  the  mouth  of  his 


successor.'  " 


In  the  question  of  opportuneness,  great  weight  was 
attached  to  the  views  of  the  American  bishops.  The 
church  of  the  United  States,  all  admitted,  was  growing 
rapidly.  America  was  destined  to  be  the  home  of  civilized 
populations  more  numerous  than  those  which  at  present 
inhabit  Europe ;  and  Catholics  there,  were  already  living 
under  social  conditions  toward  which  Europe  seemed  to  be 
approaching. 

The  opposition  felt  that  the  support  of  the  bishops  of  the 
New  World  would  be  most  opportune.  Archbishop  Spal- 
ding said  :  American  Catholics  are  Roman  Catholics ;  and 
they  will  stand  with  the  Pope,  if  such  a  thing  were  possible, 
against  all  the  bishops  in  the  world  ;  and  his  words  were 
grand,  not  because  he  uttered  them,  but  because  they  were 
spoken  in  the  fit  hour,  and  proclaimed  the  living  faith  of  a 
young  but  great  and  vigorous  church.  Why,  we  Catholics 
of  Irish  and  English  descent  had  been  baptized  Papists  in 
three  centuries  of  blood  and  cruelty ;  and  were  we  now,  in 


Defiiiition  of  Papal  InfalHhility.  411 

mere  wantonness,  to  give  up  the  glorious  title  of  our  nobil- 
ity? "O  Church  of  Rome!"  exclaimed  Fenelon,  in  the 
days  of  an  older  Gallicanism,  "O  Holy  City!  O  dear  and 
common  country  of  all  true  Christians  !  There  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  nor  Greek,  nor  Scythian,  nor  Barbarian,  nor  Jew,  nor 
Gentile.  All  are  made  one  people  in  thy  bosom.  All  are 
co-citizens  of  Rome,  and  every  Catholic  is  Roman."* 

This  was  the  confession  of  faith  made  by  Archbishop 
Spalding — simple  enough,  but  sublime  because  it  was  made 
in  the  right  hour. 

"When  the  history  of  the  Vatican  Council  comes  to  be 
written,"  wrote  a  well-known  Englishman,  "  not  many 
names  will  be  mentioned 'with  more  honor  than  that  of  the 
wise  and  prudent  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  ;  nor  will  any 
extra-conciliary  document  be  recorded  in  future  generations 
with  deeper  satisfaction  or  warmer  gratitude  than  the  letter 
in  which  Mgr.  Spalding  vindicated  himself  and  his  col- 
leagues from  all  complicity  with  Gallican  doctrines  and 
intrigues."  f 

**  Your  grace  has  earned  the  gratitude  of  millions,"  wrote 
Dr.  Marshall,  the  author  of  T]ic  Christian  Missions,  "  whom 
your  noble  letter  will  console  and  instruct.   Everyone  seems 

*  Deuxieme  Mandement  sur  la  Constitution  Unigenitus. 

•f-  The  Vatican,  p.  258. 
In  referring  to  the  letter  of  Archbishop  Spalding  to  Bishop  Dupanloup, 
the  Roman  correspondent  of  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette  made  an  observation 
which  it  may  be  worth  while  to  record  here:  "  The  violent  pamphlet  "  (this 
is  his  language)  "  of  Mgr.  Spalding,  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  in  favor  of 
Pontifical  infallibility,  has  drawn  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  three  cham- 
pions of  the  dogma — Dr.  Manning,  Mgr.  Spalding,  and  Mgr.  Dechamps — 
■come  from  the  three  freest  countries  pf  the  world — England,  North  America, 
and  Belgium.  .  .  .  Nearly  all  the  opponents  of  the  dogma."  he  con- 
•tinues,"are  from  States  which  have  concluded  concordats  with  the  Holy 
See,  which  recognize  the  Catholic  religion  as  that  of  the  nation,  and  eithei 
-directly  pay  its  clergy,  as  in  France,  or  maintain  it,  as  in  Austria,  Hungary 
and  Germany,  in  possession  of  vast  estates  " 


4-12  Life  of  Ai'chbishop  Spalding. 

to  feel  that  it  is  the  most  formidable  blow  hitherto  inflicted! 
upon     that     deplorable    school    whose    final    condemnation* 
seems  to   be  at    hand.     It  is  a  matter  for  special  congratu- 
lation that  this  lesson  should  have  been  given  by  an  Ameri- 
can  prelate.      The  world   imagines   that    your   countrymen: 
are  too   free  and   independent   to  accept  the  light  yoke  of 
truth,  and  that,  if  they  are  Catholics,  it  can  only  be  a  diluted 
Popery  which    such    men   profess.      Their  chief  pastor  has. 
dispelled    effectually    this    popular    delusion.     .     .     .     Our 
American  brothers  will  feel  a  just  pride  that  such  a  voice 
has    gone    forth   from   the  see  of   Baltimore,   and   that   one 
whom  they  love,  with  so  much  reason,  has  delivered  such  a 
testimony   in  the   face  of  Europe   and  of  all  Christendom. 
Your  letter,  my  dear  Lord  Archbishop,  will  go  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth,  and  it  will  always  remain  one  of  the  conspic- 
uous facts  in  the  history  of   the  Vatican  Council,  that  the 
American  Church  was  so  nobly  represented  in  it  by  one  who- 
is  already  in  fact,  and  who  will  soon,  I  hope,  be  in  title  and 
honor,  its  Primate." 

As  Archbishop  Spalding  felt  that  special  ties  of  gratitude- 
should  bind  us  to  the  Holy  See,  he  also  perfectly  understood 
that  the  highest  interests  of  the  church  in  this  great  Re- 
public, even  more  than  elsewhere,  demanded  that  this  union 
of  love  should  be  cherished  and  in  every  possible  way 
strengthened. 

The  whole  edifice  of  the  church,  indeed,  is  knit  together 
under  the  headship  of  Peter,  cemented  into  imperishable 
durability  on  the  divinely-adjusted  rock,  which  crumbles  not 
at  the  touch  of  all-destroying  time,  moves  not  in  the  uni- 
versal upheaval  of  human  things,  but,  like  the  foundations 
of  the  everlasting  hills,  remains  for  ever.  What  in  ages  past 
has  held  the  church  together,  prevented  it  from  being- 
broken  up  into  national,  sectarian,  fragmentary  parts,  with- 
out unity  of  doctrine  or  bond  of  communion,  a  prey  to  alP 


Dejinitioii  of  Papal  hifallibility.  413 

the  vicissitudes  to  which  human  affairs  are  subject  ?  The 
see  of  Peter,  the  centre  of  unity,  the  bond  of  charity,  the 
keystone  to  the  arch  that  spans  the  earth  and  reaches  to 
heaven,  like  the  rainbow,  a  perpetual  symbol  of  God's  ever- 
enduring  love  and  truth.  Now,  this  traditional  and  con- 
servative authority  of  the  Holy  See  is,  such  at  least  was 
the  opinion  of  Archbishop  Spalding-,  even  more  necessary 
for  us  than  for  any  other  portion  of  the  Church  Catholic.  In 
our  active  and  restless  society,  everything  is  in  a  state  of 
chronic  transition.  Manners,  customs,  and  opinions  change 
with  the  same  rapidity  with  which  we  cause  splendid  palaces 
and  vast  centres  of  commerce  to  spring  up  from  the  bosom 
of  the  miasmatic  swamp  or  through  the  dense  foliage  of  the 
primeval  forest.  We  have  no  landmarks  of  the  olden  time, 
no  ancient  moorings,  no  anchor  sunk  in  the  strata  of  by- 
gone ages.  Religious  opinion  here  outside  the  church, 
more  universally  than  in  Europe,  is  fast  resolving  itself  into 
deism,  atheism,  pantheism — into  that  philosophy,  in  a  word, 
by  whatsoever  name  you  may  call  it,  by  which  God  is  made 
an  abstraction,  and  man  becomes  to  himself  his  own  supreme 
law. 

Protestantism  with  us  is  certainly  adrift  on  the  wide,  wide 
sea,  driven  hither  and  yon,  torn,  and  rent,  and  twisted  by 
every  wind  of  human  opinion.  In  it  there  is  nor  unity,  nor 
strength,  nor  beauty.  The  crucial  age  is  upon  it,  and,  like 
a  circle  in  the  water,  it  will  never  cease  to  enlarge  itself,  that 
it  may  take  in  every  phase  of  human  opinion,  until  it  dis- 
perse into  naught.  Catholics,  like  other  men,  are  more  or 
less  influenced  by  the  circumstances  in  which  they  are 
thrown ;  and  in  this  irreverent  age  and  country,  in  which 
we  do  not  sufficiently  respect  anything,  and  least  of  all  the 
persons  of  those  clothed  with  authority,  a  true  and  abiding 
devotion  to  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  the  centre  of  unity  and  the 
pillar  of  strength,  is  the  only  safeguard  against  the  disinte- 


4H  ^if^  of  Archbishop  Spaidmg^. 

grating  action  of  the  repulsive  and  centrifugal  forces,  which 
the  license  of  the  times,  the  spirit  of  nationality,  the  differ- 
ence of  customs  and  ideas,  and  the  increasing  disrespect  for 
authority,  will  bring  to  bear  against  the  unity  of  the  church 
in  this  country.  In  the  past,  our  relations  with  the  Holy 
See  have  been  all  that  could  be  desired  ;  and  it  was  but 
natural  that  this  should  have  been,  since,  so  long  as  we  were 
a  young  and  infant  church,  we  instinctively  felt  the  need  of 
a  father's  guiding  and  protecting  hand.  But  now  that  we 
have  grown  stronger  and  feel  less  our  dependence,  it  is  all 
the  more  necessary  that  we  should  cling,  with  the  tender 
love  of  a  child  to  its  mother,  to  the  centre  of  our  unity,  and 
consequently  of  our  strength. 

"  I  should  regard  as  the  greatest  misfortune  of  my  life," 
wrote  Archbishop  Spalding,  "  to  have  contributed  in  any 
way  whatever  to  cause  even  a  single  one  of  my  brothers  to- 
falter  in  perfect  obedience  to  the  authority  of  the  church." 
These  words  contain  the  spirit  of  his  life.  He  had  the 
most  unbounded  respect  for  anything,  however  trivial  and 
unimportant  in  itself,  that  came  from  the  Holy  See  ;  and 
no  one  could  be  more  careful  than  he  was  in  carrying  out  to 
the  letter  the  various  regulations  sanctioned  by  the  Holy 
Father  for  the  government  of  the  church  in  this  country. 
His  zeal  in  this  respect  may  have  seemed  to  some  excessive; 
but  he  felt  that  in  his  position  he  could  do  no  greater  work 
for  the  church  than  to  give  the  highest  example  of  perfect 
respect  for  authority.  ' 

Archbishop  Spalding,  as  I  have  already  stated,  was 
appointed  by  the  Holy  Father  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mission on  Postiilata.  He  was  also  elected,  by  a  majority 
of  the  votes  of  the  bishops,  a  member  of  the  Commission 
on  Faith. 

These  were  among  the  principal  congregations  of  the 
Council,  and  in   them  was  prepared  much  of  the  most  deli- 


Devotion  of  the  American  Church.  415 

cate  and  important  matter  which  was  afterwards  submitted 
to  the  bishops. 

During  the  eight  months  in  which  the  Vatican  Council  was 
in  session,  Archbishop  Spalding  labored  almost  incessantly, 
and  he  bore  the  fatigues  of  the  trying  deliberations  of  those 
months  remarkably  well,  much  better,  indeed,  than  many  of 
his  brothers  who  were  younger  and  more  vigorous  than  him- 
self. He  had  the  gift  of  being  able  to  throw  his  whole  soul 
into  whatever  he  undercook  to  perform;  and  this  power  of 
concentrating  his  energies  often  sustained  him  in  the  midst 
of  labors  which  his  naturally  feeble  health  would  not  have 
otherwise  borne.  He  remained  in  Rome  until  after  the 
fourth  and  last  General  Congregation,  which  was  held  on 
the  1 8th  of  July,  1870,  and  in  which  the  final  vote  on  the 
infallibility  of  the  Pope  was  taken — five  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  of  the  five  hundred  and  thirty-five  bishops  present  vot- 
ine  in  favor  of  the  definition.* 


"■■a 


*  The  last  preliminary  vote  in  the  public  Congregation,  held  a  few  days 
previously,  stood  :  Placet,  451  ;  non-Placet,  88  ;  Placet  with  modifications, 
62.  Most  of  the  last  class  voted  Placet  at  the  session,  while  most  of  the 
non-Placet  voters  chose  to  absent  themselves,  though  they  were  perfectly 
free  to  vote,  as  the  example  of  two  of  their  number  proved.  Comparing  the 
total  number  of  voters  on  this  occasion  with  that  of  the  fathers  who  origi- 
nally belonged  to  the  Council,  there  is  a  falling  off  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty-nine,  of  whom  probably  twelve  had  died,  and  the  remainder,  with 
the  exception  above  indicated,  had  been  permitted,  for  legitimate  causes,  to 
return  to  their  dioceses.  The  great  majority  of  these  were  in  favor  of  the 
efinition. 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

THE  MANNER  IN  WHICH  THE  DISCUSSIONS  OF  THE  VATI- 
CAN COUNCIL  WERE  CONDUCTED — THE  INFALLIBILITY 
OF  THE  POPE — LIBERTY  AND  LIBERALISM — TOUR  IN 
SWITZERLAND. 

ISCUSSION,"  wrote  Archbishop  Spalding,  "  is 
characteristic  of  all  deliberative  assemblies,  of 
which  the  oldest  and  best  models  have  been 
the  councils  of  the  Catholic  Church.  From 
that  of  Jerusalem,  presided  over  by  Peter,  to  that  of  the 
Vatican,  presided  over  by  his  successor,  Pius  IX.,  there  has 
always  been,  first,  '  much  disputing,'  and  then  later,  after 
the  matter  had  been  discussed  and  Peter  or  his  successor 
had  pronounced  sentence,  a  great  silence  and  peace."  * 

Immediately  after  the  final  vote  had  been  taken,  Arch- 
bishop Spalding  addressed  a  Pastoral  Letter  on  the  Papal 
infallibility  to  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  archdiocese  of 
Baltimore.  The  irresponsible  correspondents  of  the  press 
had  sought,  by  the  reckless  perversion  of  facts,  to  bring  the 
Council  into  disrepute.  They  desired  to  produce  the  im- 
pression that  the  intellect,  the  virtue,  and  the  independence 
of  spirit  in  the  Council  were  to  be  found  exclusively  among 
those  who  were  opposed  to  the  infa-llibility  of  the  Pope. 
These  far-seeing  and  heroic  men  were  represented  as  over- 
whelmed by  the  noisy  and  tyrannical  majority,  who  were 
described,  to  use  the  words  of  Archbishop  Manning,  as  a 
Dead  Sea  of  superstition,  narrowness,  shallowness,  igno- 
rance, prejudice  ;  without  theology,  philosophy,  science,  or 

*  Pastoral  Letter  on  lufallibility. 


The  Infallibility  of  the  Pope.  417 

eloquence;  gathered  from  "old  Catholic  countries";  big- 
oted, tyrannical,  deaf  to  reason  ;  with  a  herd  of  "  Curial 
and  Italian  prelates  "  and  mere  "  Vicars  Apostolic." 

Freedom  of  discussion,  we  were  told,  there  was  none;  for 
the  thrilling  eloquence  of  the  minority  was  drowned  b}'  the 
violent  ringing  of  bells  and  intemperate  interruptions  ;  by 
outcries,  menacing  gestures,  and  wild  clamors  round  the 
tribune. 

Archbishop  Spalding,  who  was  perfectly  familiar  with  the 
laws  and  customs  that  govern  deliberative  assemblies,  and 
Avho  was  an  eye-witness  of  what  he  describes,  and  intimately 
acquainted  with  even  the  minutest  details  relating  to  the 
Council,  gives  the  following  plain  and  matter-of-fact  state- 
ment as  to  the  manner  in  which  its  deliberations  were 
carried  on. 

"  Never,"  he  writes,  "  has  there  been  a  council  in  which 
there  has  existed  fuller  latitude  or  greater  freedom  of  dis- 
cussion, or  one  in  which  greater  decorum  and  dignity  have 
been  observed.  Every  subject,  or  Schema,  has  been  thought- 
fully examined,  in  its  most  minute  details,  and  in  all  its  pos- 
sible bearings.  The  regulations  provided  for  a  triple  dis- 
cussion ;  the  first  in  writing,  the  other  two  by  word  of 
mouth.  After  the  distribution  of  the  Schema,  the  fathers 
Avere  invited  to  hand  in,  in  writing,  within  a  specified  period, 
their  objections  or  modifications  to  the  appropriate  deputa- 
tion or  committee,  which  thereupon  instituted  a  searching 
examination,  and  reported  back  the  result  of  their  delibera- 
tions in  the  shape  of  a  revised  and  reprinted  Schema.  Then 
the  oral  discussion  began  ;  first,  in  general,  or  on  the  gene- 
ral matter  and  form  of  the  Schema ;  and  next,  in  particular, 
on  each  chapter,  and  even  on  each  phrase  and  word  ;  the 
speakers  at  the  same  time  presenting  in  writing  the  amend- 
ments which  they  deemed  opportune.  These  amendments 
•were  printed  and  distributed  among  the  fathers,  who  were 


4i8  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spaldmg. 

advised  of  the  day  assigned  for  voting  on  them.  The  vote 
taken,  such  of  the  amendments  as  were  adopted  were 
embodied  in  the  reprinted  Schema ;  and  then  the  fathers- 
were  called  upon  to  vote,  first,  on  each  separate  part  or 
chapter  of  the  revised  text ;  and,  next,  on  the  whole.  The 
last  vote  was  most  solemn  ;  it  was  taken  by  calling  sepa- 
rately all  the  members  of  the  Council,  each  of  whom  might 
answer  in  one  of  three  ways — either  by  placet,  or  yea  ;  by 
non-placet,  or  nay  ;  or  hy  placet  j'uxta  niodiun,  or  yea  with  a 
modification.  These  modifications  handed  in,  in  writing,, 
were  printed  and  sent  back  to  the  deputation  for  examina- 
tion, and,  on  their  report  to  the  Council,  the  final  prepara- 
tory vote  was  taken  in  the  general  Congregation,  prelimi- 
nary to  the  solemn  and  conclusive  vote  in  the  public 
session. 

"  The  great  mass  of  these  debates  regarded  the  forms  of 
expression  rather  than  the  substance  of  the  things  them- 
selves ;  though  some  of  them,  especially  on  the  last  Consti- 
tution— to  which  we  shall  soon  refer — touched  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent  the  substance  itself,  or  at  least  the  opportune- 
ness of  the  definition.  Every  sentence,  every  phrase,  every 
word,  every  comma  even,  was  searchingly  examined  ;  and 
with  a  triple  discussion  and  a  triple  preparatory  vote,  even 
humanly  speaking,  there  could  scarcely  be  room  for  a  mis- 
take. The  judgment  of  the  church  on  matters  of  faith  and 
morals,  when  confirmed  by  the  Roman  Pontiff — as  they 
necessarily  must  be — being  irreversible  and  infallible,  and 
regarding  all  time  as  well  as  all  nations,  all  these  precau- 
tions are  wisely  taken  as  a  preliminary  to  the  promised 
presence  and  assistance  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  then  puts- 
the  seal  of  his  infallible  truth  on  the  results  of  human 
research  and  industry.  These  are  not  only  not  excluded 
by  the  divine  promises,  but  they  are  regarded,  not,  indeed,. 
as  a  condition  of  infallibility,  but  as  a  moral  duty  of  the 


The  hifallibility  of  the  Pope.  4 1 9 

assembled  fathers,  who  are  bound  to  search  the  Scriptures 
and  the  traditions  of  the  church  before  rendering  their 
decision."  * 

After  paying  this  tribute  to  the  fairness  with  which  the 
proceedings  of  the  Council  were  conducted,  Archbishop 
Spalding,  in  a  few  concise  and  lucid  paragraphs,  disengages 
the  question  of  infallibility  from  the  misconceptions  with 
which  ignorance  and  prejudice  had  sought  to  obscure  it,  and 
then  gives  a  clear  conception  of  its  real  scope  and  nature. 
He  shows  that  the  Vatican  Council  has  not  set  up  a  new 
doctrine,  but  has  merely  proclaimed  in  the  most  solemn 
manner  a  truth  that  was  coeval  with  the  founding  of  the 
Christian  church,  which  is  a  divinely  established  organism 
in  which  the  separation  of  the  head  from  the  body  is  impos- 
sible without  the  destruction  of  that  work  against  which,  by 
God's  promise,  the  gates  of  hell  shall  never  prevail.  "  From 
the  Catholic  stand-point,"  he  concludes,  "we  cannot  logically 
believe  in  the  infallibility  of  the  church  without  admitting; 
the  official  infallibility  of  its  visible  head,  the  Roman  Pontiff. 

*  Friedrich,  in  his  Documenta  ad  Illustrandum  Conciluim  Vaticanutn,  anni 
1870,  gives  the  original  draughts  or  Schemata  as  first  submitted  to  the  bishops. 
A  comparison  between  these  draughts  and  the  Cfwj/iVw/ww  as  finally  adopted 
shows  that  hardly  a  sentence  has  been  left  standing  in  the  latter  as  it  stood 
in  the  former.  Except  in  the  general  titles,  "On  Faith"  and  "On  the 
Church,"  everything  is  altered— the  arrangement,  the  titles  of  the  chapters, 
the  matter  of  the  chapters— not  a  little  entirely  eliminated,  not  a  little 
entirely  new  introduced.  In  the  First  Constitution,  the  matter  is  cut  down  t» 
about  one-half  its  original  dimensions— eighteen  chapters  reduced  to  four. 

The  Second  Constitution  is  reduced  to  about  one-third  its  original  compass 

four  chapters  instead  of  fifteen  ;  and  a  great  deal  of  very  weighty  matter  is 
left  out  altogether;  whilst  the  chapter  on  the  Papal  infallibility,  not  in  the 
Schema  at  all,  is  inserted,  and  a  series  of  canons  are  expunged.  This,  of 
itself,  furnishes  most  undeniable  and  palpable  proof  that  the  Constitutions  ar e 
the  free  and  deliberate  work  of  the  bishops  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  it  affords 
a  striking  instance  of  the  utter  untrustworthinessof  those  who  have  attacked 
the  Council.     "  Lie  !  lie  !"  said  Voltaire  ;  "  something  will  always  stick." 


420  Life  of  ArchbisJwp   Spalding, 

And  it  is  not  at  all  to  be  wondered  at  that  this  cardinal 
point  of  Catholic  doctrine  should  have  been  defined  in  the 
Council  of  the  Vatican,  as  it  had  been  so  publicly  impugned, 
with  so  much  evil  to  the  church,  since  the  close  of  the  last 
General  Council  ;  particularly  as  the  opposition  to  it  has 
lately  been  reawakened  in  a  manner  so  fierce  and  so  deter- 
mined. It  was  surely  time  to  settle  finally  a  question  which 
has  produced  so  much  excitement,  to  the  great  embarrassment 
and  disedification  of  the  faithful." 

To  the  oft-repeated  objection  that  the  definition  would 
shock  the  prejudices  of  non-Catholics,  and  retard  or  prevent 
their  conversion  to  the  true  faith.  Archbishop  Spalding 
replied :  "  A  long  acquaintance  and  a  friendly  discussion 
with  intelligent  and  candid  non-Catholics,  running  through 
a  period  of  more  than  a  third  of  a  century,  has  impressed  us 
with  the  conviction  that  what  they  admire  most  in  the 
Catholic  controvertist  is  candor,  directness,  and  an  openness 
which  leaves  no  suspicion  that  anything  is  left  in  the  back- 
f^round  or  meant  to  be  concealed.  They  admire  a  man  who 
feels  strong  enough  to  accept  the  whole  position,  and  who  is 
bold  enough  to  meet  every  issue  and  to  decline  no  responsi- 
bility. The  first  things  which  strike  a  cultivated  non-Catho- 
lic, when  his  attention  is  called  to  the  Catholic  Church,  are 
its  world-wide  grandeur  of  extension,  its  superhuman  and 
marvellous  unity  of  faith,  and  its  tenacious  consistency  in  so 
steadily  adhering  to  principle  amid  weal  and  woe ;  and 
above  all,  its  wonderful  antiquity,  indicated  so  strikingly  in 
its  long  line  of  Pontiffs,  reaching  back  through  the  wreck  of 
king-doms  and  the  vicissitudes  of  human  aflfairs  to  the  time 
when  Peter  and  Paul  first  came,  poor  strangers,  to  the  Eter- 
nal City,  to  set  up  the  standard  of  the  cross  in  the  magnifi- 
cent metropolis  and  mistress  of  the  world.  The  range  of 
human  history  can  present  no  parallel  to  this  line  of  vene- 
rable Pontiffs,  through  whose  energetic  exertions  and  untir- 


The  Infallibility  of  tJic  Pope.  421 

ing  zeal,  apostles  were  ordained  and  successively  sent  out  to 
con\xM-t  the  nations,  and  to  knit  them,  as  fast  as  converted,  to 
the  great  Roman  centre  of  unity;  so  that,  in  the  course  of  a 
few  centuries,  the  world  became  Christian  even  far  beyond 
the  boundaries  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Thus  was  accom- 
plished the  promise  of  Christ,  the  divine  Shepherd  of  the 
flock,  through  the  agency  of  his  delegated  chief  shepherd  : 
'  And  other  sheep  I  have,  which  are  not  of  this  fold  ;  them 
also  must  I  call,  and  there  shall  be  one  shccpfold  under  the 
one  shepherd.' 

"  The  chief  agents,  under  Christ,  of  this  marvellous  trans- 
formation were  manifestly  the  Roman  Pontiffs  ;  and  to  them, 
whenever  it  is  a  question  of  the  church,  all  eyes  are  spon- 
taneously directed.  Now,  in  discussing  with  Protestants,  we 
take  this  high  stand-point  as  our  beginning,  and  from  it  we 
easily  survey  the  whole  field,  and  point  out  all  its  bearings, 
with  the  official  infallibility  of  the  Pontiffs  established,  and 
along  with  it  the  necessary  adherence  of  the  body  to  the 
head  ;  w^e  explain  at  once  the  secret  of  that  wonderful  unity 
and  tenacity  of  faith  which  so  puzzles  the  unbeliever  in 
supernatural  interposition  and  guidance.  The  fidelity  of 
Christ  in  fulfilling  his  promise,  that  the  gates  of  hell  shall 
not  prevail  against  his  church,  built  upon  Peter  as  a  rock, 
and  that  his  faith  shall  not  fail,  that  he  may  safely  and 
securely  confirm  his  brethren,  makes  clear  what  else  would 
be  well-nigh,  if  not  wholly,  inexplicable.     .     .      . 

"  While  professing  their  belief  in  the  divine  mission  of 
the  apostles  and  in  the  inspiration  of  the  New  Testament, 
evangelical  Protestants  admit  the  infallibility  of  Peter  and 
of  the  otlier  apostles,  at  least  of  such  of  them  as  were  in- 
spired writers.  Why  was  this  gift  of  infallibility  conferred 
on  them?  Plainl\-  that  the  whole  body  of  Christians,  who 
would  be  instructed  b}'  their  writings,  might  not  be  neces- 
sarily led   into  error.     It  was  for  the  security  and  common 


42  2  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

good  of  Christendom  that  this  extraordinary  gift  was 
divinely  bestowed.  The  infalhbiHty  of  the  other  apostles 
did  not  descend  to  their  successors,  the  individual  bishops, 
because  these  were  .to  have  charge  of  only  particular  and 
local  churches ;  and  their  error  would  thus  not  affect  or 
mislead  the  whole  body,  and  might,  moreover,  be  readily 
remedied  by  the  ordinary  powers  left  by  Christ  with  his 
divinely  constituted  church.  The  case  was  widely  different 
with  Peter  and  his  successors,  whose  jurisdiction  was  to 
remain  world-wide,  and  whose  error — if  official  error  there 
could  be — would  necessarily  taint  and  ruin  the  entire  body 
-of  the  church.  For  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  church, 
from  and  before  the  days  of  Irenaeus,  in  the  second  cen- 
tury, it  was  a  generally  received  axiom  and  rule  of  conduct 
that  '  all  other  churches — that  is,  the  faithful  who  are  every- 
where— must  of  necessity  agree  with  the  Roman  Church'  " 

Archbishop  Spalding  next  turns  to  the  objection  that  the 
definition  of  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope  will  prove  hurtful 
to  the  cause  of  civil  liberty  ;  and,  after  referring  to  the  foun- 
dation of  all  liberty,  the  liberty  of  the  soul — "  if,  therefore, 
the  Son  shall  make  you  free,  you  shall  be  free  indeed" — he 
continues:  "The  second  kind  of  liberty,  and  the  highest 
possible  type  of  it  in  civil  governments,  is  that  in  which, 
whatever  be  the  form  of  government,  the  rights  of  all  citi- 
zens are  respected  and  protected  alike  ;  in  which,  if  it  be  a 
republic,  the  majority  rules  while  respecting  the  rights  of  the 
minority  ;  in  which  the  taxes  are  equitably 'levied  upon  all 
citizens  in  proportion  to  their  ability  or  means,  and  do  not 
exceed  what  is  necessary  for  carrying  on  the  government ; 
above  all,  in  which  the  property  and  the  rights  and  laws  of 
the  church  are  respected  and  left  inviolate,  and  in  which  all 
citizens,  ecclesiastics  included,  are  equally  protected  by  the 
law,  not  only  as  written,  but  as  executed  ;  in  which,  in  a 
word,  without  discrimination,  especially  as  between  the  rich 


The  hifallibility  of  the  Pope.  423 

and  the  poor,  all  are  equally  protected  in  their  legitimate 
rights,  all  are  equal  before  the  law,  and  all  are  equally  gov- 
erned and  equally  benefited  b}'  the  law.  This  theory  of 
liberty  was,  in  substance,  laid  down  by  the  Catholic  school- 
anen  of  the  middle  ages  ;  but  it  has  seldom,  if  ever,  been 
fully  realized  in  this  imperfect  world." 

To  this  view  of  liberty,  w  hich  has  been  developed  and  given 
;to  the  world  by  the  Catholic  Church,  the  infallible  Pope  can 
never  be  opposed.  "  Governments,"  continues  Archbishop 
Spalding,  "  like  garments,  must  fit  or  suit  the  people  for 
Avhom  they  are  formed.  Some  may  need  a  monarchy,  others 
may  prefer  a  republic.  The  church  leaves  all  this  to  regu- 
late itself,  according  to  the  choice  of  the  people  or  the  cir- 
cumstances of  time  and  place,  confining  herself  to  teaching 
both  sovereigns  and  people  their  respective  duties  as  laid 
•down  by  the  law  of  Christ.  She  teaches  boldly  and  fear- 
lessly, though  she  may  sometimes  be  able  only  to  cry  out 
in  the  wilderness  to  t/hose  who  will  not  heed  her  voice. 

"It  is  well  known  that  the  great  reigning  Sovereign  Pontiff, 
•first  of  all  sovereigns  in  modern  times,  inaugurated  a  system 
of  free  government,  even  to  the  extent  of  establishing  a 
deliberative  assembly,  in  which  the  delegates  of  the  people 
might  fully  and  freely  express  their  sentiments  on  matters 
■which  concerned  their  civil  well-being.  It  is  also,  alas  !  but 
too  well  known  how  the  enlightened  benevolence  of  our 
great  and  good  Pius  IX.  was  thwarted  by  the  wicked  and 
repaid  with  ingratitude  by  those  very  men  whom  he  had 
amnestied  and  loaded  with  favors !  His  Prime  Minister 
basely  assassinated,  at  mid-day,  on  the  very  steps  of  the 
■Chambers  ;  his  private  secretary,  the  lamented  Palma,  shot 
•down  at  his  side  by  a  cowardly  assassin  ;  himself  imprisoned 
in  his  palace  by  a  furious  and  blood-thirsty  mob,  and  finally 
forced  to  fly  from  his  capital,  and  become  an  exile  and  a 
-wanderer  on  the   earth." 


424  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

But    when    we     cease    to    speak    of   liberty,    and    come 
to    liberalism,    he    shows    that    the     question     assumes    a 
wholly    new    aspect.       Between    Liberalism    and    Catholic- 
ism    there     is     a    necessary     conflict,    because     Liberalism 
affirms    that    there    is    no    absolute    and    immutable    truth, 
whereas   the  church   makes  this   principle  the  very  corner- 
stone  of  all   knowledge  and   of   all   justice.     Liberalism  is 
want  of  principle.     It  respects  Rome  because  she  has  pre- 
served the  temples  and  statues  of  paganism,  and  scorns  her 
because  she  has  built  asylums  for  purity  and  obedience  ;  for 
the  murderer  and  the  assassin  it  has  only  words  of  tenderness, 
and  would  fain  change  their  prisons  into  palaces;  but  upon 
the  monk  who  obeys  and  is  pure  it  pours  out  the  wrath  of 
diabolic  hatred  ;  it  builds  temples  to  Venus,  where  the  flesh 
is  adored  ;  and  it  drives  the  Catholic  virgin   from  the  home 
which  her  own  heart  chose.     It  calls  itself  the  friend  of  the 
people,  and   it   seeks   to    tear  from   their  hearts   their  only 
hope— that  of  a  better  life  ;  the  protector  of  the  poor,  and 
it  shuts  them  up  in  gloomy  prisons,  where  a  cold  and  venal 
hand  deals  out  to  them  wherewith  to  fill  the  stomach,  but 
v/here  no  word  of  love   is  spoken  to   make  them  feel  that 
they  are  men — are  loved.     It  proclaims  the  inviolability  of 
the  human  conscience,  and  around  the  bed  of  the  dying  man 
it  places  fiends  in  human  shape  to  force  him  to  die  as  he 
has  lived— God's  enemy  and   his   own.     It   desires   not  the 
homage  of  blind   faith,  and    in   midnight   lodges   it   extorts 
from    its  victims   an   oath   to   believe  and  act  according  to 
principles  of  the  real  nature  and  tendency  of  which  they  are 
to  be  kept  in  ignorance.     It  in  turn  befriends  and  betrays  all 
governments,  and  loves   none.     It   sits  on  the  throne  with 
Caesar ;  it  strengthens  the  hands  of  absolutism  in  the  per- 
son   of   a    heartless    and   crafty   minister;  and    it  leads  the 
rabble  under  the  banner  of  the  Commune.     It  betrays  every 
cause  it  advocates,  and  is  as  incapable  of  honest  dealing  a? 


Liberty  and  Liberalism,  42.5 


of  disinterested  love.  To  the  cliurcli  it  holds  out  a  seeming 
hand  of  friendship,  whilst  with  the  other  it  filches  the  alms 
of  the  poor.  It  palters  in  a  double  sense,  and  breaks  the 
promise  to  the  hope,  whilst  kcepin<,r  it  to  the  ear. 

A  deep  and  true  instinct  caused  the  French  Revolution  to 
give  to  what  it  meant  by  liberty  the  form  of  a  prostitute  ;  for 
Liberalism,  which,  intellectually,  is  want  of  principle,  is,  mor- 
ally, the  worship  of  lust  ;  and  the  symbol  of  lust  is  woman, 
venal,  degraded,  stripped  of  modesty  and  purity,  which 
alone  make  her  free  and  beautiful.  Liberalism  is  the  most 
hollow  and  sounding  sham  of  this  age.  Between  the  church 
and  it  there  can  be  no  reconciliation,  as  there  can  be  none 
between  God  and  Satan.  With  liberty  the  church  needs  not 
to  be  reconciled — she  is  never  greater  than  when  free  with 
the  free  ;  but  could  she  shake  hands  with  the  polluted  idol 
of  libertinism,  she  would  not  be  the  spouse  of  Christ.  Not 
among  the  least  of  the  benefits  conferred  upon  the  world  by 
the  Vatican  Council  is  this,  that  henceforth  there  can  be  no 
more  liberal  Catholics — Catholics  who  in  any  way  sympa- 
thize with  Liberalism,  or  who  hold  that  reconciliation 
between    it   and    the   church   is   possible. 

The  sessions  of  the  Council  of  the  Vatican  were  sus- 
pended after  the  vote  which  was  taken  on  the  i8th  of 
July  ;  and  Archbishop  Spalding  immediately  left  Rome  to 
escape  the  oppressive  heat,  and  went  to  breathe  the  moun- 
tain air  of  Savoy  and  Switzerland,  until,  as  was  then 
thought,  the  Council  would  reassemble  in  the  fall.  He 
visited  the  tomb  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales  at  Annecy,  and 
many  other  scenes  of  the  labors  of  this  great  apostle,  who 
was  his  ideal  of  a  Catholic  bishop.  He  gave  a  brief  account 
of  this  pilgrimage  in  the  following  letter,  written  from 
Geneva  to  Mother  Frances  Gardiner,  Superior  of  the  Sis- 
ters of  Charity  of  Nazareth  : 


426  Life  0/  Archbishop  Spalding. 

"My  Dear  Mother: 

"  I  have  thought  that  I  could  not  better  spend  my  vaca- 
tion, during  the  suspension  of  the  Council,  than  in  making  a 
-pilgrimage  to  all  the  places  rendered  sacred  by  the  lives  and 
<ieaths  of  two  of  your  patrons— St.  Francis  de  Sales  and  St. 
Jane  de  Chantal.  I  have  just  returned  from  this  consoling 
visit,  and  enclose  to  you  relics  of  both  saints,  which  you  may 
•divide  among  your  friends,  keeping  the  best  part  for  your- 
self. 

"  I  visited  Annecy,  where  I  said  Mass  at  the  shrines 
where  the  bodies  of  the  two  saints  repose  in  splendid  cas- 
kets behind  the  respective  altars.  I  went  to  Thorens, 
where  St.  Francis  was  born,  baptized,  and  consecrated 
bishop  ;  and  also  to  Thonon,  where  he  began  his  apostolic 
labors,  where  his  life  was  so  often  exposed  to  the  attempts 
of  hired  assassins,  and  where  he  prepared  the  way  for  the 
conversion  of  seventy-two  thousand  Calvinists.  I  was  every- 
where received  with  open  arms  by  the  Bishop  and  clergy, 
and  was  greatly  edified  by  the  piety  of  the  people,  who  still 
remember  and  revere  St.  Francis  as  their  father  in  God. 
How  much  better  to  be  a  saint,  and  have  one's  memory  kept 
always  fresh,  than  to  be  a  sinner  and  be  forgotten  ! 

"  With  the  aid  of  your  continued  prayers,   I  hope  to  be 
much   better  after   this   pilgrimage.     I  am  sure  St.  Fr^-' 
and  his  friend  will  pray  for  me." 

In  Geneva,  Archbishop  Spalding  spent  several  days. 

"  Geneva,"  he  wrote,  "  is  the  Protestant  Rome  no  longer, 
simply  because  it  has  ceased  to  be  Protestant  in  any  proper 
sense  of  the  term.  Nearly  one-half  of  the  city,  and  consid- 
erably more  than  half  of  the  canton,  are  now  Catholic,  while 
nine-tenths  of  the  remaining  portion  have  gone  off  into  the 
Tanks  of  Unitarianism  and  rationalism,  the  latter  verging  on 
■downright  infidelity.     The  name  of  John  Calvin  is  now  sel- 


Tour  ill  Switzerland,  427 

dom  heard,  and  his  last  resting-place  is  utterly  unknown  ; 
and  the  same  may  be  said  of  his  predecessors  and  co-workers 
in  iniquity  under  the  mask  of  religion — Viret,  Farcl,  and 
others.  Their  memory  is  wholly  gone,  their  very  names 
have  well-nigh  perished.  The  principal  and  real  non-Cath- 
olic patron  saints  of  Geneva  arc  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau,  a 
native  of  the  city,  who  has  a  statue  erected  to  him  on  an 
island  of  the  Rhone,  in  a  position  prominent  and  central,  and 
Voltaire,  a  foreigner,  the  philosopher  of  Fernaix,  in  the 
immediate  vicinity ;  while  the  secondary  patrons  may  be 
said  to  be  two  other  infidel  foreigners,  Gibbon  and   Byron.'' 

"  In  Geneva,"  he  adds,  "  the  Protestant  churches  are 
usually  called  temples — a  not  unsuitable  designation  for 
houses  of  worship  dedicated  to  what  may  be  called,  without 
any  exaggeration  or  breach  of  charity,  a  system  of  vague 
and  bald  Christianity,  dashed  with  a  revived  paganism. 
Plato,  Socrates,  and  Epictetus  might  well  preach  in  these 
temples,  if  they  could  only  school  themselves — which  they 
might  readily  do — to  speak  respectfully  of  Christ  as  a  great 
reformer  and  philosopher." 

Of  St.  Peter's  Cathedral,  in  Geneva,  which,  like  nearly  all 
the  magnificent  churches  of  the  world,  was  built  by  Catho- 
lics, he  wrote  : 

"  Stripped  of  its  altars,  its  paintings  and  statuary,  it 
appeared  to  us  a  grand  picture  of  desolation,  a  temple 
instead  of  a  church,  a  shell  without  a  kernel,  a  body  with- 
out a  soul!  How  our  heart  sank  within  us  at  the  sad  spec- 
tacle of  desecration,  especially  when,  in  reply  to  our  implied 
question,  while  we  pointed  to  the  empty  and  desolate  sanc- 
tuary, and  said,  '  There  once  stood  the  high  altar,'  the 
elderly  female  sexton  said,  with  a  lurid  smile  worthy  of 
John  Calvin,  '  We  Protestants  have  no  altar  ' !  Cold  walls 
and  empty  benches — that  was  all.  And  here,  within  these 
hallowed  walls,  which  once  resounded    with   the  Gloria  in 


428  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

Excclsis  and  the  Psalms  of  David,  are  now  heard  but  Hfeless- 
canticles  and  sermons  filled  with  the  platitudes  of  Socinian- 
ism  and  rationalism  !  God  and  Christ  has  been  driven  from 
his  own  holy  sanctuary,  and  man,  with  his  pigmy  but  grandi- 
loquent humanitarianism,  has  been  enthroned  in  his  place  ! 
And  this  thing  has  been  called  reformation  ! 

"  From  the  church  of  John  Calvin  we  went  to  his  house, 
and  here  our  spirits  were  suddenly  refreshed.  What  a 
change,  and  how  unexpected  !  The  Sisters  of  Charity,  with 
their  angelic  ministrations,  now  occupy  the  ample  residence 
where  the  once  great  apostle  of  luicJiarity  had  his  abode, 
and  where  he  planned  his  heartless  system.  Hundreds  of 
Catholic  children  fill  the  religious  schools  taught  by  them, 
and  receive  in  the  very  salons  of  Calvin  the  elements  of  a 
sound  Catholic  education  !" 

In  connection  with  his  tour  through  Switzerland,  Arch- 
bishop Spalding  refers  to  the  oft-repeated  assertion  that  the 
Protestant  are  far  superior  to  the  Catholic  cantons  in  cul- 
ture, productiveness,  and  general  prosperity.  Were  the 
assertion  founded  in  fact,  he  asks,  what  would  follow  ? 
Christ  certainly  did  not  establish  his  religion  to  enable  men 
to  lay  up  more  easily  and  abundantly  treasures  on  earth. 
They  who  seek  only  this  world  may  succeed  better  than 
others  in  finding  what  they  seek,  but  a  divine  voice  has 
declared  that  "  they  have  received  their  reward."  "  We 
believe,"  he  continues,  "  that  whatever  difference  exists 
between  the  Catholic  and  Protestant  cantons,  in  point  of 
culture  and  progress,  m'ay  be  fairly  traced  to  other  causes 
than  difference  of  religion.  In  general,  it  may  be  said  that, 
at  the  time  of  the  so-called  Reformation  and  thereafter,  the 
Protestants  took  possession  of  the  plains,  which  constituted 
th^  most  fertile  portion  of  Switzerland,  leaving  to  the  Cath- 
olics the  mountainous,  and  therefore  least  productive,  por- 
tions ;  or,  to  speak  more  accurately,  that  the  inhabitants  of 


Tour  m  Switzerland.  429 

the  plains,  being  already  more  wealthy,  and  probably  more 
worldly-minded  and  corrupt,  became  Protestants ;  while 
those  of  the  mountains,  for  a  contrary  reason,  remained 
steadfastly  attached  to  the  faith  of  their  fathers.  We 
believe  the  impartial  tourist  will  come  to  the  conclusion 
that,  other  things  being  equal,  there  is  very  little,  if  any,  dif- 
ference between  the  general  appearance  and  cultivation  of 
the  two  classes  of  cantons.  We  ourselves  passed  through 
eleven  out  of  the  twenty-two  cantons,  and  we  could  remark 
no  striking  difference  of  the  kind  referred  to." 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 


THE  SACRILEGIOUS  INVASION  OF  ROME  —  ARCHBISHOP 
SPALDING  RETURNS  HOME — HIS  RECEPTION  IN  BALTI- 
MORE  AND   WASHINGTON   CITY — A   RETROSPECT. 

HE   sessions  of  the   Council  of  the  Vatican   had 
hardly  been    suspended,  when    events   occurred 
in   Europe  which  seemed    to  betoken    that    the 
fathers  would  not  be  able  to  reassemble  again 
in  the  fall.     The  war  which  had  broken  out  between  France 
and  Prussia  had  led  to  the  withdrawal  of  the  French  troops 
from  Rome,  and  it  was    easy   to    foresee   that  the   Italian 
Government  would    not  long  hesitate  to   crown   its  many 
infamies  by  taking  possession  of  the   Holy  City.     Of  the 
consummation  of  this  sacrilegious  crime,  Archbishop  Spal- 
ding   received    the  news  whilst  in  Switzerland.     "  Finding 
our  position  at  Albano  insecure,"  wrote  Dr.   Chatard,  the 
Rector   of  the    American    College,    immediately   after   the 
capture   of  the  city,  "  from  the   approach  of  the   invading 
troops  and  consequent  troubles,  I  brought  all  the  commu- 
nity to  Rome  on  the  evening  of  the   12th  and  morning  of 
the  13th  of  September.     The  next  morning,  the  gates  were 
closed  ;    and    on    the    14th    occurred    the    first    skirmish    at 
Monte    Mario    between    the    lancers   and   the   zouaves   and 
dragoons.     The    next    three    days    saw    the    Italian    forces 
arrive  in   great   numbers.     The  interference   of   Baron  von 
Arnim    delayed    the    attack    to    the    morning  of   the  20th,. 
although  there  was    little    more    than  words   in   the  whole 
matter  of  intervention.     At  five  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
that  day,  we  were  awakened  by  fearful  cannonading.     The 


The  Sacrilegious  l7ivasio7i  of  Rome.  43 1 

points  first  assailed  were  the  Porta  Pinciana,  the  Porta 
Salara,  the  Villa  Macao,  and  the  Porta  San  Lorenzo, 
After  three  hours  and  a  few  minutes  of  incessant  firing, 
the  attack  on  the  Porta  Pancrazio  was  made,  and  bombs 
began  to  fall  in  the  city.  Whether  it  was  that  our  flag, 
which  I  had  placed  on  the  highest  point  of  the  college, 
protected  us  in  part,  or  our  central  position  placed  us 
beyond  range,  we  were  not  struck  at  all,  nor,  as  far  as  I 
know,  did  any  shot  strike  near  us.  .  .  .  The  firing 
lasted  until  half-past  ten  o'clock,  when  a  white  flag  was 
run  up  at  the  cross  of  St.  Peter's,  at  Castel  Angelo,  and  at 
St.  Mary  Major's.  It  seems  the  Italian  troops  endeavored 
to  enter  the  city  before  the  result  of  the  parley  was  made 
known.  The  zouaves  fired  on  them,  and  this  exasperated 
the  enemy.  The  fighting  ceased,  however,  and  the  troops 
poured  into  the  city.  .  .  .  We  have  passed  through 
three  days  of  terror,  we  may  say.  The  populace  have  had 
things  pretty  much  their  own  way.  Papal  soldiers  have 
been  beaten  and  killed  in  the  streets.  Ecclesiastics  were 
not  safe ;  many  have  been  insulted  and  threatened  with 
personal  violence.  To  do  the  Italian  troops  justice,  they 
took  no  part  in  this,  but  uniformly  kept  order  and  de- 
fended those  who  were  molested.  The  returned  emigrati 
and  the  element  introduced  into  Rome  before  the  siege^ 
together  with  the  dregs  of  the  people  and"  the  Jews,  are 
those   to   whose   door    this  violence    is    laid." 

These  events  made  it  evident  that  the  Council  could  not 
continue  its  labors  in  Rome.  Archbishop  Spalding  did  not, 
however,  at  once  abandon  the  hope  of  seeing  the  fathers 
reassemble  in  the  fall.  He  thought  that  some  city  of  Bel- 
gium might  be  chosen  in  which  to  resume  the  work,  and 
in  this  view  he  was  supported  by  several  leading  bishops 
of  the  Council.  But  the  state  of  Europe  was  so  unsettled, 
and  the  French  and  German  bishops  were  surrounded  by 


432  Life  of  Ai'chbishop  Spalding. 

so  many  difficulties,  that  this  project  was  not  taken  into 
serious  consideration.  Not  wishing  to  return  home  without 
positive  instructions  from  the  Pope,  Archbishop  Spalding^ 
as  soon  as  he  had  heard  of  the  capture  of  the  city  by  the 
Italian  Government,  wrote  to  Rome  to  ask  what  he  should 
do  ;  and,  in  reply,  received  the  following  letter  from  Cardi- 
nal Bilio,  one  of  the  Presidents  of  the  Council : 

"  In  answer  to  your  esteemed  letter  of  the  29th  of  Sep- 
tember, I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  the  Holy 
Father,  to  whom  I  carried  it  this  morning,  not  only  per- 
mits, but  desires,  that  you  return  to  Baltimore  ;  since,  owing 
to  the  sad  state  to  which  we  are  reduced,  the  Council  is  sus- 
pended dc  facto,  and  soon  will  be  de  jure.  The  Holy  Father, 
though  greatly  afflicted,  is  in  good  health,  and  sends  you 
his  most  especial  blessing,  both  for  yourself  and  your  dio- 
cese, whither  the  esteem  and  love  of  all  who  have  had  the 
honor  to  know  you,  among  w^hom  I  hold  myself  to  be  one 
of  the  first,  will  accompany  you." 

Upon  the  reception  of  this  letter.  Archbishop  Spalding  at 
once  prepared  to  return  home,  and  towards  the  close  of 
October  he  sailed  on  the  City  of  Paris  from  Liverpool  to 
New  York,  where  he  arrived  early  in  November.  In  Balti- 
more, fifty  thousand  people  assembled  to  welcome  him 
home.  This  imposing  demonstration  of  popular  reverence 
was  not  less  an. evidence  of  the  love  and  veneration  in  which 
Archbishop  Spalding  was  held  by  the  Catholics  of  Maryland, 
than  a  proof  of  their  filial  devotion  to  the  church  and  hei 
infallible  Head  on  earth  ;  and  it  is  thus  of  historical  impor- 
tance as  an  example  of  the  unfeigned  delight  with  which 
the  Catholics  of  the  United  States  received  the  definition 
of  the  Papal  infallibility.  His  arrival  was  announced  by  the 
booming  of  cannon,  and  the  bells  of  all  the  Catholic  churches 
of  the  city  rang  out  the  welcome  tidings.  The  Catholic 
societies,  with  floating  banners  and  gay  badges,  formed  in 


ArcJibishop   Spaldiiig  Rehi7'7is  Home.         433 

line,  and  passed  before  the  open  carriage  in  which  the  Arch- 
bishop sat.  The  streets  along  which  the  procession  passed 
were  decked  with  flags,  and  from  the  windows  beaming  faces- 
and  the  waving  of  handkerchiefs  betokened  the  heartfelt  joy 
that  welcomed  home  one  beloved  and  dear.  The  sidewalks 
were  thronged,  and  the  streets  around  the  cathedral  were 
filled  with  crowds  patiently  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  pro- 
cession. In  the  address  of  welcome,  Judge  Mason,  after 
giving  expression  to  the  gratitude  which  all  felt  for  the  safe 
reiurn  of  the  Archbishop,  and  to  the  pride  with  which  his 
<:ourse  in  the  Council  had  filled  the  Catholics  of  Maryland. 
turned  to  what  was  the  more  immediate  sentiment  of  th  • 
occasion : 

"  We  have  not  come  together,"  he  said,  "  to  welcome 
home  the  great  champion  of  truth,  who  has  left  the  impress 
of  his  vigorous  mind  upon  one  of  the  most  important,  as  it 
will  be  one  of  the  most  enduring,  pages  in  the  world's  his- 
tory ;  but  we  have  assembled  in  the  spirit  of  that  simple 
love  which  prompts  little  children  to  meet  and  welcome 
with  outstretched  arms  a  father  whose  long  absence  made 
their  home  cheerle'ss  and  desolate,  and  whose  return  bring? 
joy  and  gladness.  We  come  to  receive  a  father's  blessing  ; 
to  conduct  you,  dear  Archbishop,  once  more  to  your  ol  .1 
familiar  seat  in  the  midst  of  a  devoted  household  ;  an  I 
again  to  resume  those  tender  and  affectionate  relations 
which,  even  more  than  the  honor  and  dignity  which 
attach  to  your  character  as  Prelate,  have  endeared  us  to 
you." 

The  address  in  the  name  of  the  clergy  was  delivered  by 
the  venerable  Father  Coskery. 

"  Most  reverend  and  beloved  father,"  he  said,  "  your 
children,  of  both  the  clergy  and  laity,  liail  with  delight  the 
return  of  their  Archbishop,  of  whom,  assuredly,  we  have  rea- 
son to  be  proud,  if  ever  a  devotedly  attached  flock  \\'\A  rea- 


434  Zz)^  of  ArchbisJwp  Spalding. 

son  to  be  proud  of  their  chief  pastor.  The  testimony  of  the 
CathoHc  world  *  beareth  witness  '  to  our  own,  and  convinces 
us  that  we  speak  not  merely  the  language  of  filial  love  and 
pride,  but  also  that  of  truth,  which  will  be  historic,  when  we 
assert  that  amid  the  illustrious  lights  which  shone  so  con- 
spicuously in  the  great  Vatican  Council,  few  have  done  more 
than  our  own  Archbishop,  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  episcopal 
office,  to  enlighten  in  the  things  of  God  '  every  man  that 
Cometh  into  the  world.'  " 

To  these  addresses  Archbishop  Spalding  replied,  in  his 
simple  way : 

"  Dearly  Beloved  : 

"I  thank  you  all  for  this  kindly  greeting;  I  have  loved 
you  all  very  much,  but  now,  after  this  testimonial  of  your 
affection,  I  must  love  you  more  than  ever." 

In  Washington  City,  he  was  received  with  scarcely  less 
enthusiasm  than  in  Baltimore.  Here,  again,  he  was  met  by 
the  clergy  and  the  Catholic  societies,  who  conducted  him  in 
solemn  procession  through  the  streets  of  the  national  capi- 
tal, thronged  by  thousands,  who  extended  to  him  a  cordial 
welcome  home. 

The  demonstration  was  not  unlike  that  which  is  witnessed 
on  Inauguration  Day,  except  that  there  was  no  military 
parade.  These  popular  gatherings  did  not  have  as  their  end 
the  mere  idle  ceremony  of  pomp  and  display.  They  were  a 
public  profession  of  faith,  and  an  evidence  of  the  hearty 
readiness  with  which  the  children  of  the  church  in  this  coun- 
try obey  the  voice  of  their  mother.  They  also  furnished  an 
opportunity  of  entering  a  formal  protest  against  the  sacri- 
legious crime  which  the  Italian  Government  had  just  consum- 
mated. This,  in  fact,  was  done  at  the  reception  of  the 
Archbishop    both    in    Baltimore    and   in  Washington   City^ 


Temporal  Power  of  the  Pope.  435 

The  thousands  who  had  assembled  to  welcome  him  home 
organized  themselves  into  a  mass  meeting,  and  passed  reso- 
lutions, of  which  the  following  was  the  preamble  :  "  We, 
the  Catholics  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Baltimore,  in  general 
meeting  assembled,  to  the  number  of  more  than  fifty  thou- 
sand, in  order  to  welcome  the  return  from  Rome  of  our 
beloved  Archbishop,  wish  to  avail  ourselves  of  this  impres- 
sive occasion  to  give  expression,  in  the  face  of  all  Christen- 
dom, to  our  earnest,  solemn,  and  unanimous  protest  against 
the  late  invasion  of  the  Roman  States  by  the  Florentine 
Government."  They  then  give  as  their  reasons  for  making 
this  protest  that  this  invasion  had  been  made  in  violation 
of  solemn  treaties,  by  which  the  independence  of  the  Sov- 
ereign Pontiff  in  the  government  of  the  small  territory  that 
he  still  possessed  was  secured  ;  that  Rome  belonged,  not  tO' 
Italy,  but  to  Christendom^to  the  two  hundred  millions  of 
Christians  scattered  over  the  world,  who  had  given  their 
money  to  build  it  up  and  enrich  it  with  splendid  monuments- 
of  religion  ;  that  the  Papal  territory  stood  in  the  same  rela- 
tion to  the  united  states  of  Christendom  that  the  District 
of  Columbia  bears  to  the  United  States  of  America  ;  and  as 
no  State  of  the  Union  could  have  the  right  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  District  of  Columbia,  so  no  nation  can  have  the 
right  to  take  possession  of  the  Papal  territory. 

They  also  affirm  that  since  Rome  is  not  only  the  sanctu- 
iry   of    religion,   but   the  capital   of    literature    and   art    as 
well,  it  is   greatly  to  be  feared   lest   its    precious  treasures, 
should  be  scattered  or  destroyed  by  the  ruthless  invader. 

At  the  mass  meeting  in  Washington  City,  similar  resolu- 
tions were  drawn  up  and  unanimously  adopted. 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  Archbishop  Spalding  at  this  time, 
through  the  columns  of  the  press,  by  the  Bishop  of  Wheel- 
ing, that  Right  Reverend  Prelate  said  : 

"  I  wish  to  express  in  the  most  public  manner  my  gratifi- 


43^  Life  of  ArcJibisJiop  Spalding. 

cation  at  the  grand  ovation  given  you  recently  in  the  capital 
of  the  United  States.  It  was  a  most  flattering  demonstra- 
tion of  fihal  regard  to  your  person  by  the  CathoHcs  of  your 
diocese  ;  but  it  has  acquired  an  interest  for  the  population 
of  our  entire  country,  as  being  made  the  occasion  of  sending 
forth  a  protest  from  that  capital  against  the  action  of  the  rob- 
ber government  of  Italy  for  daring  to  seize  upon  the  patri- 
mony of  the  Holy  See." 

Archbishop  Spalding,  a  few  weeks  after  his  return,  deliv- 
ered a  lecture  in  Philadelphia  on  the  temporal  power  of  the 
Pope,  in  which,  after  reviewing  its  origin  and  early  history, 
he  pointed  out  its  intimate  relations  with  his  spiritual 
sovereignty.  The  church,  being  Catholic  and  not  national, 
must  have  an  unnational  head.  Place  the  Pope  in  France, 
and  he  will  become  a  French  Pope  ;  place  him  in  Spain,  and 
he  will  become  a  Spanish  Pope ;  make  him  the  subject 
of  Victor  Emanuel,  and  he  will  become  an  Italian  Pope. 
The  interests  of  the  church  require  that  the  Pope,  whatever 
his  nationality  may  be,  shall  be  of  no  nation. 

Since  two  hundred  million  Catholics  yield  to  him  the 
highest  obedience  as  to  the  immediate  representative  of 
Christ,  they  have,  beyond  question,  the  right  to  demand 
that  not  even  the  shadow  of  suspicion  shall  be  thrown  upon 
his  perfect  freedom  of  action.  They  cannot  have  this  assu- 
rance whilst  he  is  the  subject  of  any  government  whatever. 
His  spiritual  power,  the  greatest  on  earth,  renders  it  impos- 
sible that  he  should  be  a  subject  with  impunity. 

"  The  Pope  is  outside  of  Paris,"  said  the  great  Napoleon, 
who,  when  his  reason  was  undisturbed  by  some  dream  of 
mad  ambition,  was  as  far-seeing  as  it  is  given  to  man  to 
be, — "  the  Pope  is  outside  of  Paris,  and  it  is  well  ;  he  is  not 
either  at  Madrid  or  Vienna,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  we 
support  his  spiritual  authority.  At  Madrid,  at  Vienna,  they 
would  be  warranted  in  saying  the  same.     Do    you    believe 


Temporal  Ponder  of  the  Pope.  437 

that,  if  he  were  at  Paris,  the  Austrians,  the  Spaniards, 
would  consent  to  receive  liis  decisions'?  We  are,  therefore, 
but  too  happ}-  that  he  resides  far  away  from  us,  and  that, 
at  the  same  time,  he  does  not  live  with  our  rivals,  but  dwells 
in  freedom  in  time-consecrated  Rome,  far  from  the  control 
of  the  German  Emperor,  from  that  of  the  kings  of  France 
and  Spain  ;  holding  the  balance  among  Catholic  sovereigns, 
leaning  a  little  to  the  strongest,  but  at  once  assuming  an 
erect  posture  when  the  strongest  seeks  to  become  unjust  or 
oppressive.  The  ages  have  done  this,  and  they  have  done 
well.  For  the  government  of  souls,  it  is  the  best,  the  most 
beneficent  institution  that  can  be  imagined." 

Were  it  possible  that  the  Pope  should  be  the  subject  and 
at  the  same  time  the  friend  of  any  earthly  government, 
this  state  of  things  would  be  precisely  the  most  dangerous 
of  all  to  the  peace  and  unity  of  the  church.  Whilst  he  is 
persecuted,  whilst  he  is  a  prisoner,  Catholics  can  suffer  with 
him  and  be  patient  ;  but  to  see  him  a  subject,  humbly  kiss- 
ing the  hand  of  some  sensuous  and  lust-besotted  Italian 
king,  meekly  receiving  from  the  polluted  mouths  of  igno- 
rant ministers  suggestions  as  to  how  Christ's  world-wide 
church  should  be  administered,  is  what  God  will  never  per- 
mit ;  and  they  who  think  that  the  church  will  grow  accus- 
tomed to  the  state  of  things  which  now  exists  in  Rome 
little  know  the  temper  of  her  divine  mind.  If  she  were 
like  the  world,  she  would  doubtless  bow  down  before  accom- 
plished facts,  and  applaud  whatever  is  ;  but,  fortunately  for 
the  dignity  of  human  nature,  there  is  still  left  on  earth  at 
least  one  institution  in  whose  eyes  success  cannot  consecrate 
crime.  So  long  as  the  Italian  Government  remains  in 
Rome,  so  long  will  it  be  the  enemy  of  all  Catholics,  the 
hated  robber  of  the  only  temporal  good  which  they  possess 
in  common  ;  and  with  the  divine  patience  which  drove  the 
Ceesar  of  a  former  paganism  from  the  Eternal  City  will  they 


43  8  Life  of  A  re /ibis  hop   Spaldijig. 

work  and  wait  till  this  modern  toadstool  growth  shall  rot 
from  off  the  soil  it  infects.  When  the  savage  triumph  of 
German  pride,  the  brutal  delirium  of  the  Paris  Commune, 
and  the  cowardly  theft  of  the  Italian  Government  will  be 
remembered  only  as  warnings  of  God's  wrath,  the  infallible 
Pope  will  still  be  King  of  Rome. 

"  Have  not,  then,"  asks  Archbishop  Spalding  in  this  lec- 
ture,  "  the   Roman  people,   like   the   other  peoples   of   the 
world,  the  right  to  change  their  temporal  rulers?     To  this  I 
answer,"  he  replies,  "  first,  that  the  late  change  was  made 
not  by  the  Roman  people  or   on  their  demand,  but  by  a 
foreign   power  and   by  overwhelming  force   of  arms.     The 
Romans  were  simply  forced  by  the  bayonet  to  accept  one 
ruler  for  another ;  and  the  plebiscite,  or  popular  vote,  which 
followed  was  manifestly  a  farce  and  a  sham,  enacted  under 
the  influence  of  their  new  masters,  at  the  head  of  their  vic- 
torious   battalions.      Every    observer    of    recent    events    in 
France    and    Italy  is  well  aware  of   the   manner  in    which 
th&sQ  plebiscites  have  been  managed.     They  deceive  noionj 
except  those  who   wish  to  be  deceived.     In    Rome,  espe- 
cially, everything  was  done  under  the   open   terror  of  thf 
bayonet.     Hence,  the  voting  was  naturally  almost  entirely 
on  one  side.      Vast  numbers  of  camp-followers  and  of  mer. 
from  other  parts  of  Italy,  the  very  scum  of  the  cities,  who 
clearly  had   no  right  of  suffrage — even    boys    under  age- 
were  allowed   to   vote  ;  whilst  many  of  the   Romans  were 
induced  to  do  so  through  a  terrorism  which  they  had  not 
the  courage   to  resist.     Finally,  the  counting  of  the  votes 
was    altogether    in    the    hands    of    the    interested    military 
leaders,  and  no  reliance  whatever  could  be  placed  on   its 
accuracy.     In  these  United  States,  we  know  something  of 
the  machinery  requisite  for  obtaining  a  successful  vote  :  but 
we  are   only  infants  in* a  science  in  which  the  Italian  and 
European  Liberals  are  so  thoroughly  proficient.     I  answer, 


Temporal  Power  of  the  Pope.  439 

secondly,  that  even  if  they  desired  to  do  so — which  they 
did  not — the  Roman  people  have  no  more  right  to  vote 
away  a  territory  which  clearly  belongs  to  the  whole  Catholic 
■Church — to  the  united  states  of  Christendom,  as  the  con- 
secrated residence  of  its  chief— than  have  the  people  of  the 
District  of  Columbia  to  vote  away  to  one  or  more  of  the 
States  a  Territory  belonging  to  the  whole  United  States,  as 
the  seat  of  their  General  Government.  In  both  cases,  the 
soil  is  necessarily  neutral  ground  and  the  common  property 
.of  all ;  and  it  cannot  be  alienated  without  common  consent. 
Suppose  the  barbarous  inhabitants  on  the  borders  of  the 
Isthmus  of  Suez,  or  those  along  the  Panama  Railway, 
should  attempt  to  vote  away  that  great  international  canal 
or  railway,  or  should  assume  to  themselves  the  right  to 
administer  its  commerce  for  their  own  advantage,  would 
England,  would  France,  would  the  United  States,  would 
any  nation  in  Christendom  submit  to  such  an  outrage  ? 
Private  convenience  and  local  claims  must  yield  to  the 
public  good  and  to  vested   rights." 

Shortly  after  his  return  from  the  Vatican  Council,  Arch- 
bishop Spalding  dedicated  two  new  churches  in  Baltimore, 
and  one  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  He  also  made  ar- 
rangements to  have  three  other  churches  built  in  the 
city,  one  of  which  was  intended  for  the  Bohemian  Ca- 
tholics, whilst  another  was  to  be  commemorative  of  the 
Jubilee  of  Pius  IX.,  in  honor  of  his  twenty-five  years  of 
Pontificate.  He  built  within  this  year  two  new  parochial 
schools  for  the  cathedral  parish.  He  was  anxious  to  give 
a  thorough  organization  to  the  parochial  school  system  of 
the  city,  by  which  all  the  Catholic  elementary  schools 
should  be  placed  under  the  supervision  of  a  board  of  direc- 
tors. He  had  not,  however,  matured  this  plan,  which  was 
one  of  the  chief  subjects  of  his  thoughts,  when  his  last  sick- 
ness warned  him  that  his  work  was  done.     He  began  again 


440  Life  of  ArcJibishop  Spalding. 

the  visitation  of  his  diocese,  and,  during  the  spring  and" 
summer  of  1871,  he  gave  confirmation  in  Baltimore,  Wash- 
ington City,  and  various  other  places.  The  proportion  of 
converts  confirmed  was  about  thirteen  per  cent.  He  con- 
tinued to  preach  frequently,  and  occasionally  he  lectured  for 
some  charitable  object.  His  last  lecture  was  delivered  for 
the  benefit  of  the  negro  Catholics  of  Baltimore.  As  the 
twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  elevation  of  Pius  IX.  to  the 
chair  of  Peter  drew  near.  Archbishop  Spalding  issued  a  cir- 
cular to  the  Catholics  of  the  archdiocese,  inviting  them  ta 
commemorate  the  event  with  appropriate  observance. 

The  celebration,  both  in  Baltimore  and  Washington  City^ 
surpassed  his  fondest  hopes.  On  Sunday,  June  17,  there 
was  a  general  communion  in  all  the  churches  for  the  Holy 
Father,  and  Monday,  the  iSth,  the  celebration  took  place. 

"  We  have  had,"  the  Archbishop  wrote  a  few  days  later, 
"  the  grandest  possible  celebration  here  in  honor  of  the 
Jubilee.  Nothing  like* it  has  ever  been  seen  in  Baltimore  or 
in  the  United  States.  Indeed,  I  have  never  seen  such  enthu- 
siasm. Rich  and  poor  alike  illuminated  their  houses,  and 
the  Catholic  churches  and  institutions  flamed  with  light. 
Over  a  hundred  thousand  people  were  in  the  streets  to  view 
the  procession,  which  was  two  hours  in  passing  a  giverr 
point." 

Archbishop  Spalding  was  greatly  pleased  by  this  splendid 
proof  of  the  devotion  of  the  Catholics  of  his  diocese  to  the 
Holy  Father  ;  for,  apart  from  other  and  more  important 
considerations,  he  had  a  special  love  and  veneration  for 
Pius  IX. 

The  following  letter  was  written  in  reply  to  one  which  had 
been  drawn  up  and  sent  to  the  Holy  Father  in  the  name  of 
the  Catholics  of  the  archdiocese  of  Baltimore,  on  the  occa^ 
sion  of  his  Pontifical  Jubilee: 


Letter  of  Pius  IX.  44  J 

"PIUS  P.P.  IX. 

"  Venerable  Brother  and  Beloved  Sons  !     Health 
AND  Apostolic  Benediction  : 

"  We  have  received  your  very  dutiful  letter  of  the  2 1st  of 
June,  by  which,  in  the  name  of  your  fellovv-CathoHcs,  you 
convey  to  us  the  expression  of  your  congratulation,  and  of 
the  filial  love  with  which  you  celebrated  our  Pontifical  Jubi- 
lee, by  a  very  large  and  enthusiastic  meeting,  and  public  tes- 
timonials of  your  rejoicing.     Though  we  have  already  taken 
measures  that   our  feelings  of  gratitude  and    benevolence 
towards  our  children,  who  have  done  so  much  for  us,  should 
be  made  known  to  all  in  common,  yet  we  desire  to  give  tO' 
you,  by  this  letter,  a  special  token  of  our  affection  for  you, 
and   to  signify  to  you  that  your  zeal  and  devotion  towards- 
us  and   the  Holy  See,  of  which  you   have   given   repeated 
proofs,  have  afforded  us  great  comfort  and  consolation.     But 
especially  do  we  commend  your  hope   and  the  confidence 
which  you  place  in  our  Lord,  and  to  which,  without  doubt, 
his  many  favors  should  excite  all  the  faithful.     And  now,, 
venerable   brother  and  beloved  sons,  whilst  we  are  assured 
that  your  zeal  for  religion  is  boundless,  and  your  prayers  for 
us  unceasing  at  this  perilous  time  and  in  these  afflictions 
which    beset  us,   we    beseech  the  divine   Majesty   that    he 
would  give  you  courage  to  strive  in  his  cause,  and  bestow 
an  abundant  reward  for  the  good  works  which  you  perform 
in  his  honor.     As  a  signal  mark  and  pledge  of  our  affection, 
and  an  earnest  of  heaven's  favor,  we  lovingly  impart  the 
Apostolical  benediction  to  you,  venerable  brother,  who  lead 
your  flock  with  sacerdotal  zeal  ;  to  you,  also,  beloved  sons, 
to  your  families,  to  all  our  dear  children  of  the  archdiocese, 
the  clergy,  and  their  faithful  people. 

"  Given  at  St.  Peter's,  the  2d  of  August,  1871,  the  26th 
year  of  our  Pontificate.  PlUS  P.P.  IX." 


44-  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

Little  remains  now  for  me  to  do  but  to  tell  how  Arch- 
bishop Spalding,  having  lived  a  brief  span,  breathed  out  his 
soul  to  God.  But  before  the  shades  of  night  have  gathered 
around  his  life,  in  the  twilight,  with  its  solemn  stillness, 
we  may  pause  a  moment  to  ponder  over  its  course  and  its 
meaning,  or  to  recall  its  characteristic  and  cherished  features. 

All  the  currents  of  his  life  set  to  the  church,  which,  for 
him,  had  the  promise  of  the  life  that  is  and  of  that  which 
is  to  be.  He  was  unable  even  to  conceive  of  a  better  state 
of  things  here  on  earth  than  that  in  which  all  men,  united 
in  faith,  in  hope,  in  love,  would  be  gentle,  true,  and  chari- 
table, in  life  ;  brave  and  trusting,  in  death.  In  his  eyes,  in 
comparison  with  this  soul-life,  subject  and  aspiring  to  God, 
the  hurry,  the  rush,  the  eager  rivalry,  and  the  weary  unrest 
of  them  that  seek  pleasure  and  of  them  that  seek  power,  were 
not  of  great  moment.  If  we  should  fly  in  the  air,  if  we 
should  tunnel  the  earth,  if  we  should  walk  on  the  bottom 
of  the  ocean  as  in  our  native  element,  if  we  should  convert 
every  baser  metal  into  gold,  the  infinite  yearnings  of  the 
soul  would  be  unsatisfied  as  now.  Hence,  he  was  never 
infected  with  the  idolatry  of  material  progress  ;  nor  did  he 
believe  that  any  possible  modification  or  perfection  of 
matter  could  help  us  to  solve  the  problem  of  human  life. 
Philosophy,  too,  he  thought  was  insufficient.  In  the  know- 
ledge of  absolute  truth,  we  have  made  no  progress  since 
Plato  and  St.  Augustine.  Then,  we  want  something  more 
than  speculation.  You  can  no  more  fill  the  all-devouring 
mind  with  abstractions  than  you  can 

"  Cloy  the  hungry  edge  of  appetite, 
By  bare  imagination  of  a  feast." 

And  as  for  physical  science,  cold  and  pitiless,  with  the 
hard,  unrelenting  features  of  its  brazen  face,  its  feet  are 
of  clay,  and  they  rest  on  sand.     It  can,  at  best,  be  but  a 


A  Retrospect.  443 

phase  in  human  thought,  and  all  the  eternal  questionings 
■of  the  soul  will  remain  after  it  as  they  were  before.  1 
remember  hearing  Archbishop  Spalding  say,  a  year  or  two 
before  his  death,  that,  as  he  grew  older,  he  realized  more 
fully  the  truth  of  his  faith,  and  saw  more  clearly  that,  if  it 
were  not  true,  nothing  w-as.  He  believed  that  the  teach- 
ings of  the  church  contain  the  highest  lessons  of  truth  and 
wisdom  for  the  human  race,  now  and  for  all  time  to  come  ; 
and,  believing  this,  he  labored  honestly  and  faithfully  to 
build  up  the  church  of  God.  There  was  in  his  life,  what 
is  found  in  so  few  lives  of  Americans,  perfect  unity  and 
harmony.  In  the  way  in  which  he  set  his  face  in  early 
youth  he  walked  even  to  the  end ;  and  to  this  end  were 
directed  all  his  labors  of  mind  and  body. 

Few  men,  I  think,  have  had  a  clearer  insight  into  the 
wants  of  the  church  in  this  country  than  he.  His  mind 
was  practical,  and  he  attached  but  little  weight  to  mere 
speculation  ;  and  hence  his  attention  was  given  almost  ex- 
clusively to  those  questions  which  have  an  actual  bearing 
upon  the  progress  of  the  church.  Catholic  education,  for 
instance,  was,  in  his  opinion,  the  essential  condition  of  any 
real  o-rowth  of  the  church  in  the  United  States.  In  com- 
parison  with  this,  he  held  every  other  issue  of  the  present 
day  to  be  of  minor  importance  ;  and  though  he  sought  to 
propagate  his  views,  and  to  prove  their  correctness  in  essays, 
lectures,  and  controversies,  the  real  manner  with  which  he 
dealt  with  the  question  was  more  practical  still.  Not 
political  agitation,  not  discussion,  but  honest.  Catholic 
work  was  what  was  wanted.  The  bishops  and  priests,  he 
thought,  should  everywhere,  without  delay,  go  to  work  to 
build  up  parochial  schools ;  and  he  sought  to  urge  on  this 
movement  by  legislation  in  the  national  and  provincial 
councils  and  in  the  diocesan  synods.  And  though  he  looked 
upon  primary  education  as  the  most   important,  because  it 


444  Z^  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

regards  the  greatest  number,  he  felt  the  imperative  neces- 
sity of  raising  the  standard  of  the  higher  education,  and' 
thought  the  time  had  come  when  we  should  found  a  Ca- 
tholic university.  He  was  also  a  most  strenuous  advocate 
of  that  practical  education  which  is  given  to  orphan  and 
abandoned  children  in  protectories  and  industrial  schools. 
Some  one  has  called  him  the  friend  of  children,  and  I  think 
no  other  title  could  have  pleased  him  so  much. 

Archbishop  Spalding  also  thoroughly  appreciated  the  mis- 
sion of  the  press,  and  the  importance  of  creating  a  Catholic 
literature,  by  which  we  would  be  enabled  to  enter  into  and 
influence  the  thought  of  the  age  ;  and  his  own  labors  in  this 
direction  have  been  productive  of  good  results.  His  views 
on  the  relations  of  the  church  to  the  state  in  this  country, 
with  reference  to  their  bearing  upon  the  duties  of  ecclesias- 
tics, as  also  his  opinions  concerning  the  manner  and  direc- 
tion in  which  our  ecclesiastical  polity  should  be  developed, 
were,  I  cannot  but  think,  both  wise  and  prudent.  His  great 
desire  to  promote  perfect  uniformity  of  discipline  and  har- 
mony of  action,  as  well  as  the  scrupulous  care  with  which 
he  sought  to  have  the  enactments  of  our  various  councils 
observed,  may  be  adduced  also  as  evidences  of  his  practical 
good  sense.  "The  best  way,"  he  said,  "to  create  a  more 
perfect  system  of  canon  law  is  to  observe  faithfully  that 
which  we  already  have."  The  best  laws  become  useless 
when  the  idea  of  the  sacredness  of  law  has  been  destroyed 
by  habitual  disregard  of  authority. 

A  sufficient  proof  of  the  real  ability  of  Archbishop  Spal- 
ding, as  it  is  the  surest  test  of  that  of  any  man,  is  the  fact 
that  he  was  never  placjed  in  a  position,,  however  high  or 
responsible,  to  which  he  did  not  prove  himself  equal. 

His  moral  character  is  above  reproach.  If  he  was  ever 
guilty  of  an  act  over  which  even  his  dearest  friend  should 
wish  to  throw  the  mantle  of  concealmeat,,!  have  beea  anabLe 


A  Retrospect.  445 

to  discover  it.  His  character  was  as  transparent  as  that  of 
an  innocent  child,  and,  had  there  been  even  a  breath  upon 
its  purity,  it  could  not  have  escaped  notice. 

Some  thought  he  was  ambitious  ;  if  so,  it  was  a  noble 
ambition  ;  but  they  \\\\o  knew  him  best  will  admit  that  he 
was  simply  zealous  and  laborious.  He  was  pleased  by  the 
•sympathy  and  attention  of  friends  ;  but  this  is  a  pardonable 
■weakness,  and  one  which  leans  to  the  side  of  virtue.  He 
was  without  policy  and  devoid  even  of  tact,  except  that 
-which  comes  of  good  sense.  His  piety  was  without  cant, 
his  charity  without  sentimentalism,  and  his  devotion  to  the 
•church  without  pretence.  He  hated  shams,  and  reverenced 
honesty  and  sincerity  even  in  an  enemy.  His  sympathies, 
like  his  faith,  were  Catholic,  and  he  thought  every  human 
Taeing  was  his  neighbor.  He  loved  the  people,  without  being  a 
demagogue  ;  and  his  country,  without  being  an  office-seeker  ; 
and  freedom,  not  for  himself  alone,  but  for  all- men.  If  he 
did  not  cultivate  individual  affections  with  special  care,  he 
was  all  the  freer  to  devote  himself  to  truth,  and  justice,  and 
•every  high  interest  of  humanity. 

Though  he  was  simple  and  ingenuous,  and,  one  would 
think,  easily  imposed  upon,  he  yet  possessed  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  character,  and  Was  seldom  mistaken  in  his 
judgment  as  to  what  the  men  whom  he  wished  to  employ 
in  the  service  of  the  church  were  able  to  do. 

He  knew  .perfectly  well  the  value  of  money,  and  was  a 
prudent  and  far-seeing  administrator  of  the  finances  of  the 
church  ;  but  he  was  wholly  free  from  any  personal  love  of 
gain.  His  hand  was  always  open  to  the  poor;  and  he  died, 
I  may  say,  in  poverty.  Some  one  owed  him  two  or  three 
thousand  dollars,  which  he  would  have  given  away  had  he 
been  able  to  get  hold  of  it ;  and  he  left  instructions  that 
this  money  should  he  used  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  chil- 
dren, whom  he  so  loved. 


4.46  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

He  was,  I  think,  very  free  from  prejudice.     There  was  iir 
his  character  nothing  of  the  narrowness  and  one-sidedness  of 
nationahsm.     He  beheved  that  God  had  made  ail  the  peo- 
ples of  the  earth  of  one  blood,  and  in  the  Catholic  republic 
of  souls  he  acknowledged  no  distinction   of  race   or  color. 
He  had  no  class-prejudices.     Plebeian  in  his  origin,  simple 
and   severe  in  his  tastes,  he  neither  affected  contempt  for 
high    birth,   nor  sought  to  ape  the   manners  of  the  great. 
Though  he  had  been  much  in  Europe,  and  had  there  mixed 
with  many  refined  and  cultivated  people,  he  remained  to  the 
end  a  plain,  blunt  American  citizen.     He  would  have  been 
the  last  man  to  desire  to  see  the  spirit  of  courtliness  intro- 
duced into   church  or  state   in  this  country.     He  did   not 
blindly  admire  either  the  sacred  eld  or  these  modern  days  ; 
but  thought  that  every  condition  of  human  society  has  been,, 
is,  and  must  be  imperfect:    '' Optimus  ille  est  qui  minimis 
urgetiiry 

The  flippant  sciolism  of  the  day,  which  blasphemes  what- 
ever it  is  unable  to  understand,  will  say  that  Archbishop 
Spalding  was  not  free  from  sectarian  prejudice,  because  he 
believed  in  the  Catholic  Church.     Prejudice  is  a  leaning  to 
one  side  of  a  cause  for  some  reason  not  founded  in  truth 
and  justice  ;  and  hence,  as  the  truth  is  one  and  error  mani- 
fold, it  is  of  the  nature  of  prejudice  that  it  should  be  in- 
definitely variable  in  time  and  place.     Individuals,  families, 
nations,   races,   epochs,  have  their  prejudices,  and,  of  the 
myriad  forms  of  this  phenomenon,  no  two  are  alike.     But 
the  Catholic  faith  has   been   held,  for  many  centuries,  by 
hundreds  of  millions  of  men,  differing  in  individual  charac- 
teristics, in  nationality,  in  race,  in  every  possible  accidental 
condition  of  life.     There  m'ust  be  some  deeper,  universal, 
more  persistent  cause  underlying  this  historic  fact  than  the 
whim  of  prejudice.     Take  another  view  of  the  subject.     It 
is  not  every  one,  as  Napoleon  said   to  Bertrand,  who  can 


A   Retrospect.  447 

afford  to  be  an  atheist.  Tlie  belief  in  a  personal  God  is  the 
most  universal  and  irrepressible  fact  in  the  history  of  the 
human  race.  The  most  perfect  and  exalted  idea  of  God 
which  has  been  given  to  men  has  come  through  Christ ; 
hence,  if  we  believe  in  God,  reason  demands  that  we  should 
believe  in  the  God  of  Christianity.  But  the  only  logical 
Christianity  is  Catholicism.  In  the  face  of  revelation,  the 
human  reason  can  take  but  two  attitudes :  it  must  consti- 
tute itself  either  its  judge  or  its  disciple. 

The  Protestants  said  :  We  believe  the  Scripture  ;  but  each 
man's  reason  must  decide  what  its  meaning  is.  • 

The  Socinians  added  :  Therefore,  we  must  believe  only 
what  is  conformable  to  reason. 

The  Deists  subjoined  :  Reason,  then,  of  itself,  suffices  to 
teach  us  the  truth.  Hence,  revelation  is  useless  and  conse- 
quently false. 

The  Atheists  reply:  What  you  tell  us  of  God  and  the 
soul  is  contrary  to  reason  ;  we  will  therefore  accept  only 
matter.  • 

The  Sceptics  conclude,  in  closing  up  the  procession : 
Materialism  contains  more  absurdities  and  contradictions 
than  all  other  systems,  and  we  will  therefore  doubt  every- 
thing. Between  Catholicism  and  scepticism  there  is  no- 
logical  foothold.* 

As  Archbishop  Spalding  was  not  prepared  to  be  a  sceptic, 
he  could  not  think  that  prejudice  made  him  a  Catholic. 

To  be  a  Catholic,  as  he  perfectly  well  understood,  can 
mean  only  one  thing;  and  he  thought  that  the  most  pitiful 
of  men  is  one  of  those  namby-pamby  nondescripts,  who,, 
whilst  holding  to  the  name  of  Catholic,  seeks  to  be  an 
eclectic.  Archbishop  Spalding  belonged  to  the  class  of 
men  who  are  most   serviceable  to  a   good  cause.      He  was 

*  Bergier,  in  his  introduction  to  the  Traite  de  la  Vraie  Religion,  has  devel- 
oped this  argument  in  the  fullest  and  most  forcible  manner. 


44^  Life  of  Ardihishop  Spalding. 

honest,  unselfish,  laborious,  hopeful,  and  conciliating.  He 
was  good  rather  than  great ;  his  mind  was  solid  rather  than 
brilliant  ;  and  he  was  a  worker,  and  not  a  theorist.  His 
insti4icts  were  generous,  his  impulses  noble,  and  all  the  mo- 
tions of  his  spirit  were  gentle.  He  was  kind  without  weak- 
ness, firm  without  obstinacy  ;  and,  having  power,  he  was 
neither  haughty  nor  tyrannical. 

Of  his  sincere  piety  and  tender  devotion  no  one  could 
doubt.  All  his  thoughts  and  aspirations  were  colored  by 
religion  and  tended  heavenward.  In  the  performance  of  his 
ecclesiastical  functions,  his  humble,  serious  bearing  indicated 
his  reverence  of  soul  ;  and  his  whole  deportment  in  the 
house  of  God  was  of  a  kind  that  cannot  be  assumed  for  a 
purpose.  In  the  pulpit,  he  was  grave  and  earnest,  and  would 
have  thought  it  ''pitiful  to  court  a  grin  when  he  should  woo 
a  souL" 

And  yet  he  did  not  believe  that,  to  be  pleasing  to  God, 
we  should  make  ourselves  disagreeable  to  men,  or  that  a 
gloomy  brow  and  long-drawn, face  were  evidences  of  piety. 
He  knew  when  to  be  serious  and  when  to  be  joyful.  In  his 
moments  of  recreation,  surrounded  by  his  friends,  he  could 
be  as  light  of  heart  and  gay  of  voice  as  if  he  had  never  had 
a  care.  He  laughed  ;  he  talked  ;  he  indulged  in  badinage 
and  repartee  ;  he  told  anecdotes,  and  told  them  well  ;  and, 
what  is  rare,  in  this  he  did  not  overstep  the  modesty  of 
nature. 

He  was,  in  fine,  a  man  who  made  those  who  knew  him 
well,  think  better  of  human  nature. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

LAST   ILLNESS   AND   DEATH   OF   ARCHBISHOP   SPALDING. 

URING  the  last  twenty-five  years  of  his  life, 
Archbishop  Spalding  suffered  much  from  ill 
health.  In  1846,  he  had  a  severe  attack  of 
typhoid  fever,  which  left  after  it  a  gastric  affec- 
tion, from  which  he  never  entirely  recovered  ;  and  to  this 
■was  added  chronic  bronchitis,  which  was  aggravated  by  his 
almost  incessant  labors  as  a  preacher  and  lecturer.  Though 
not  in  good  health,  he  had  great  vital  power,  by  which  he 
was  enabled  to  rally  from  the  frequent  spells  of  illness  to 
which  he  was  subject.  Suffering  did  not  take  from  him  the 
capacity  to  work. 

He  was  so  often  ill,  especially  in  the  latter  years  of  his 
life,  that  he  began  to  look  upon  sickness  as  his  normal  state. 
■"  I  do  not  see  how  I  am  going  to  die  at  all,"  he  wrote  in 
October,  i87i,just  after  recovering  from  an  attack  which 
his  physicians  thought  would  certainly  prove  fatal.  "  This 
is  the  fifth  time  that  I  have  been  brought  to  the  very  brink 
of  the  grave  by  this  same  kind  of  gastric  affection,  and  each 
time  I  have  been  restored  to  life  by  novenas  and  prayers. 
But  as  the  Scotchman,  who,  being  condemned  to  be  hanged 
by  his  chief,  and  availing  himself  of  the  privilege  of  his 
clan,  which  allowed  him  to  select  the  tree  on  which  he  was 
to  be  suspended,  chose  a  bush  not  three  feet  high,  answered, 
when  taunted  with  his  stupidity,  '  I  am  in  no  hurry — I  can 
wait  till  it  grows,'  so  I  will  wait  till  God  calls  me." 

We  have  already  seen  how  cheerfully,  and  even  gladly, 
he  accepted  d?ath,  when  he  thought  his  hour  had  come, 


/50  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

shortly  after  his  arrival  in  Rome  in  1830.  It  does  not 
appear  that  it  ever  occurred  to  him  to  think  that  it  was. 
hard  to  die  thus  in  the  very  blush  of  youth,  in  a  strange 
land,  thousands  of  miles  away  from  friends  and  kindred,, 
who  would  not  be  allowed  so  much  as  to  look  upon  his 
grave. 

"  I  was  happy,"  he  wrote  to  his  father,  "and  even  filled 
with  the  sweetest  joy,  when  told  that  my  hour  had  come,, 
that  the  prison  of  my  wretched  body  was  to  be  broken,  and 
that  my  soul  was  destined  soon  to  be  with  its  heavenly- 
Father  for  all  eternity." 

The  frosts  of  many  winters  had  whitened  his  head  since 
he  wrote  this,  but  the  innocent  and  brave  heart  was  young, 
as  ever,  ready  to  die,  and  also  willing  to  live.  I  do  not 
believe  there  was  ever  a  time,  after  his  elevation  to  the 
priesthood,  when  he  would  not  have  cheerfully  laid  down 
the  burden  of  life ;  and  yet  he  found  the  most  intense 
pleasure  in  living  and  working  for  the  church.  In  fact,  he 
never  looked  upon  life  gloomily.  Of  a  hopeful,  sanguine 
nature,  he  saw  rather  the  bright  side  of  things,  and  always- 
retained  something  of  that  unsuspecting  responsiveness- 
which  peculiarly  belongs  to  those  who  have  never  known 
the  world. 

His  kindly  nature  went  out  in  grateful  return  to  the 
feeblest  call  of  affection,  as  the  violet  opens  all  its  beauty 
to  the  faintest  ray  of  sunshine. 

He  loved  his  friends,  he  loved  his  kindred,  he  loved  his 
work,  and,  above  all,  he  loved  God's  church.  Not,  then,, 
from  apathy  or  weariness  was  he  willing  to  die ;  but  he 
looked  upon  death  as  God's  minister,  who  may  come  to  us 
at  any  moment,  and  whom  we  should  therefore  be  prepared 
to  receive  at  all  times.  For  at  least  two  years  before  he 
died,  he  had  the  response  of  death  within  himself,  and  fre- 
quently spoke  as  though  he  were  fully  persuaded  that  he 


Ilhiess  and  DcatJi  cf  ArchbisJiop  Spalding.     45  r 

had  but  a  short  time  to  live.  "  The  machine  is  worn  out,  he 
used  to  say;  the  doctors  have  patched  it  up  time  and  again, 
but  they  are  about  at  the  end  of  their  trade."  It  was  only 
the  machine  which  was  failing  ;  for  his  mind  and  heart  were 
vigorous  and  sound  as  they  had  ever  been.  After  his  re- 
turn from  the  Vatican  Council,  when  his  friends  urged  him 
^  to  write  or  lecture,  he  generally  replied  that  his  day  had 
passed,  and  that  his  work  was  done.  But  he  nevertheless 
continued  to  preach,  and  occasionally  to  lecture,  almost  to 
the  very  time  when  his  last  illness  came  upon  him. 

"  A  good  soldier,"  he  wrote,  "  does  not  abandon  his 
post  until  regularly  relieved  ;  and  the  only  discharge  for  a 
soldier  of  the  cross  is  death." 

.  His  interest  in  whatever  concerned  the  welfare  of  the 
church  was  as  living  the  day  in  which  he  died  as  it  had 
'been  in  the  first  flush  of  his  youthful  zeal.  We  have  seen 
with  what  joy  he  received  the  missionaries  of  St.  Joseph,, 
who  arrived  but  a  short  time  before  his  death,  and  how 
hopefully  he  looked  forward  to  the  resuit  of  their  labors; 
among  the  emancipated  slaves  of  the  South.  The  favorite 
projects  of  his  life  still  occupied  his  thoughts. 

"  May  God  bless  the  good  work  and  you  !  "  he  wrote  to 
Father  Hecker,  referring  to  his  efforts  for  the  diffusion  of 
Catholic  books  and  tracts.  ''  I  need  scarcely  say  how 
cordially  I  go  with  you  in  all  this,  and  how  cheerfully  I  will 
co-operate. 

"But,  alas!  our  Catholics  are  not  a  reading  people,  and 
they  will  have  to  be  educated  up  to  the  point.  They  seem 
to  feel  that  all  is  finished,  and  that  nothing  remains  to  be 
done  ;  that  the  church  being  divine,  no  exertion  is  needed 
to  extend  its  influence,  and  to  ward  off  evil  and  scandal.  I 
wish  there  could  be  infused  into  them,  not,  indeed,  the  rest- 
less and  feverish  activity  of  Protestants,  '  always  learning, 
and  never  arriving  at  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,'  but  some- 


452  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

thing   of   that    steady    Catholic    zeal    which,   with    suitable 
.organization,  may  achieve  wonders." 

Again,  three  months  before  his  death,  he  wrote:  "  While 
J  was  sick,  I  so  greatly  appreciated  the  sweet  unction  of  the 
Psalms  that  I  thought  we  neglected  them  too  much,  and 
that  our  piety  was  decidedly  too  dull  and  prosy  ;  and  I 
.almost  made  up  my  mind  that,  if  I  recovered,  I  would  get  up 
.a  new  Prayer-Book,  with  Prime  for  morning  prayer,  Compline 
for  evening  prayer,  and  the  full  Psalter  of  David  done  into 
Enelish.  Our  English  Praver-Books  have  but  little  of  the 
.unction,  and  none  of  the  poetry,  of  the  Psalms,  which  have 
been  adopted  by  the  church  as  her  official  standard  of 
prayer." 

A  few  days  later,  he  wrote  to  Cardinal  Barnabo  :  "  I  am 
just  convalescent  from  an  illness  which  brought  me  to 
.death's  door.  God  has  wished  to  keep  me  longer  here. 
Ehc2i !  nimis  prolo7igatiis  est  incolatus  mens !  However, 
-whilst  I  live,  I  shall  not  cease  to  work.  Having  completed 
the  parochial  schools  near  the  cathedral,  which  have  cost 
nearly  thirty  thousand  dollars,  I  am  about  to  begin  the 
.erection  of  a  large  church,  in  a  quarter  of  the  city  where 
there  is  great  need  of  one,  which  is  to  be  dedicated  to  the 
service  of  God,  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Pius.  I  intend 
that  this  church  shall  be  a  perpetual  memorial  of  the  Jubi- 
lee of  the  Holy  Father." 

During  the  last  months  of  his  life,  he  began  to  prepare  a 
new  edition  of  his  Sketches  of  Kentucky  and  the  Life  of 
Bishop  Flaget,  which  he  intended  partly  to  rewrite  and  con- 
dense into  one  volume.  He  worked  at  this  even  during  his 
last  illness.  At  the  end  of  his  course,  he  looked  back,  with 
the  greatest  tenderness  and  love,  to  the  spot  where  it  first 
began.  The  scenes  which  had  witnessed  the  labors  of  the 
best  years  of  his  life  grew  again  before  his  eyes  ;  he  dwelt, 
with  the  fondness  of  a  child,  upon  the  places  which  are  the 


Illness  and  Death  of  Archbishop   Spalding.     45  j 

whole  world  to  his  young  heart  ;  and  he  found  relief  in  occu- 
pying himself  with  thoughts  of  the  days  that  were  no  more^ 
in  recalling  to  mind  the  labors  and  sufferings  of  those  apos- 
tolic men  who  were  the  guides  of  his  youth  and  the  models 
of  his  maturer  life.  He  thought  again  of  the  simple  man- 
ners of  the  good  old  times,  when,  if  hands  were  rough, 
hearts  were  brave  and  true  ;  when  the  noble  courage  and 
more  than  the  purity  of  the  matrons  of  Rome,  in  her  best 
days,  asked  not  other  adornment  than  the  home-spun  gown. 
Again  he  wrote  of  Father  Byrne  and  old  St.  Mary's,  buried 
deep  in  the  dark  woods,  the  peaceful  home  of  religion  and' 
science,  where  one  would  have  least  looked  for  such  an  asy- 
lum ;  and  where,  as  the  boy-professor,  he  won  his  first  tri- 
umphs, and  first  felt  his  soul  lifted  heavenward  on  the  wings 
of  high  aspiration  and  generous  resolve. 

He  loved  to  talk  of  the  peaceful  cloisters  and  convents, 
homes  of  all  that  God  most  loves,  which  are  scattered 
through  the  old  Catholic  counties  of  Kentucky — of  Geth- 
semane  and  St.  Rose,  of  St.  Joseph's  and  St.  Thomas's,  of 
Nazareth,  of  Loretto,  of  St.  Catharine's,  of  Holy  Mary's„ 
and  of  Bethlehem. 

A  short  time  before  Christmas,  he  felt  that  it  was  hfs 
duty,  though  he  was  quite  unwell,  to  go  to  New  York,  in 
order  to  be  present  at  a  meeting  of  bishops,  in  which 
matters  of  some  importance  were  to  be  discussed.  In  re- 
turning home,  he  took  cold,  which  brought  on  an  attack 
of  acute  bronchitis  of  a  very  aggravated  form.  For  six 
weeks,  he  suffered  from  partial  suffocation,  which  often 
threw  him  into  agonies  of  pain.  During  these  six  weeks, 
he  was  rarely  ever  able  to  lie  in  bed,  but  was  obliged  to 
sit   in   his  chair. 

On  Christmas  morning,  he  said  Mass  for  the  last  time,  on 
a  little  altar  which  he  had  caused  to  be  erected  in  the  hall 
before    his  bedroom.     When   the   Sisters  of  Charity,   who 


454  Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

were  nursing  him,  expressed  the  fear  lest  he  should  not 
be  able  to  stand  so  long,  he  replied  :  "  Pray  that  God  may- 
give  me  strength  ;  it  would  be  a  great  sacrifice  not  to  say 
Mass  on  the  Feast  of  Christmas.  Since  my  first  Mass, 
God  has  given  me  great  devotion  in  celebrating  the  divine 
mysteries."  He  remained  all  night  sitting  in  his  chair, 
and  at  six  o'clock  prepared  for  the  Holy  Sacrifice.  His 
left  foot  was  considerably  swollen,  and  he  seemed  to  suffer 
intensely  during  the  celebration  of  the  Mass.  When  the  . 
sister  asked  him  how  he  felt,  he  smiled  and  said,  "  The 
sweet  little  Infant  pressed  on  my  foot  during  the  Holy  Sac- 
rifice," From  this  time,  his  sufferings  increased  almost  daily 
and  the  frightful  spells  of  suffocation  grew  more  frequent. 

He  was  in  sickness,  as  in  health,  demonstrative,  and 
could  not  easily  remain  quiet  whilst  any  one  was  with 
him  ;  but  Dr.  McSherry,  his  physician,  and  the  Sisters  of 
Charity  who  nursed  him,  declare  that  his  patience  and 
resignation  were  perfect.  He  was  willing  to  die,  he  was 
willing  to  get  well,  or  he  was  willing  to  live  and  suffer, 
as  it  might  please  his  divine  Master.  He  united  each  pain 
with  the  different  stages  of  our  Lord's  passion.  When 
able  to  speak,  he  gave  frequent  utterance  to  acts  of  faith, 
hope,  and  resignation.  "  Not  only  will  I  suffer  patiently 
and  cheerfully,"  he  would  often  say,  "  but,  oh  !  how  lovi,ngly., 
my  sweet  Jesus !  May  thy  holy  will  be  done  for  ever  and 
ever!"  ''Grant  me,  O  my  God  !  patience  and  resignation, 
but,  above  all,  thy  love  ;  for  patience  and  resignation  may 
be  pagan,  but  love  is  Christian."  He  did  not  seem  to  feel 
any  anxiety  as  to  God's  judgment.  "For  well-nigh  forty 
years,"  I  heard  him  say  the  day  before  he  died,  "  I  have 
labored  for  God  ;  there  may  have  been  some  little  human 
vanity  in  some  of  my  deeds,  but,  in  the  main,  all  was  done 
with  a  right  intention."  "  My  sweet  Jesus !"  he  would 
often  say,   "I   go  to   thee   full   of  confidence;    not  that  1 


Illness  a  ?id  Dea  th  of  A  rch  b  is  hop  Spa  Iding.    455 

irely  on  any  merits  of  \wy  own,  but  solely  on  thy  mercies, 
which  are  above  all  th)-  \\orks." 

The  red  sash  which  he  had  worn  as  a  student  of  the 
Propaganda,  and  a  crucifix,  which  had  been  blessed  for  the 
iiour  of  death  and  given  to  him  by  Gregory  XVI.  after 
his  ordination,  he  kept  constantly  with  him  during  this 
rsickness.  In  a  hasty  application  of  cups,  when  he  was  in 
•danger  of  suffocating,  heat  was  used  in  the  absence  of  an 
-exhausting-pump,  and  his  chest  was  burned  by  the  blazing 
alcohol.  "  This,"  he  said,  "  is  like  purgatory  ;  but  it  is  all 
right,  I  can  bear  it."  Upon  another  occasion,  his  sufferings 
became  so  intense  as  to  blunt  for  a  time  his  consciousness; 
respiration  had  almost  ceased,  and  the  physician  thought 
it  well  to  apply  a  powerful  galvanic  battery  to  his  chest. 
When  he  came  to  himself  again,  and  was  told  of  this,  he 
said  :  "  This,  doctor,  is  a  regular  case  of  assault  and  bat- 
tery." His  habit  of  making  playful  remarks  to  visitors 
•often  deceived  them  as  to  his  real  condition.  They  could 
not  believe  that  one  who  was  consciously  dying  could  be 
pleased  to  have  smiling  faces  about  him.  Yet  so  it  was. 
Archbishop  Spalding  spoke  cheerfully  and  even  gaily  twenty 
■minutes  before  he  died.  Death,  though  it  approached  him 
without  disguise,  had  no  terrors  for  him.  He  looked  it  in 
the  face  with  a  courage  as  heroic  as  it  was  unpretending. 

On  the  3d  of  January,  Father  Coskery,  thinking  that  he 
might  die  at  any  moment,  determined  to  give  him  the  Holy 
Viaticum  and  extreme  unction.  When  he  told  the  Arch- 
bishop of  his  intention,  he  thanked  him,  and  added  that  it 
would  give  him  the  greatest  satisfaction  ;  for  he  had  always 
prayed  that  he  might  not  die  without  the  last  sacraments. 
About  midnight.  Father  Coskery,  accompanied  by  the  other 
priests  of  the  cathedral,  entered  his  room  and  gave  him 
Viaticum  and  extreme  unction.  After  the  reception  of 
(these  holy  sacraments,  he  spoke  a  few  words  of  exhortation 


456  Life  of  ArchbisJwp  Spalding. 

to  those  around  him,  blessed  them,  and  in  their  persons 
all  his  priests  and  children,  and  then  remained  for  the  rest 
of  the  night  sitting  in  his  chair,  absorbed  in  prayer  and 
meditation.  He  passed  the  night  before  Epiphany,  which 
he  called  the  great  feast  of  the  Propaganda,  in  a  continual 
act  of  love  and  desire  to  receive  holy  communion.  Father 
Coskery  frequently  gave  him  com.munion,  during  his  illness, 
just  after  midnight.  On  these  occasions,  he  would  often  ask 
what  hour  it  was,  and,  when  told,  he  would  say:  "  The  time 
is  fast  approaching  when  my  sweet  Jesus  will  come  to  me. 
Oh!  that  I  could  die  and  be  with  him  for  ever!  But  not 
my  will,  but  thine,  be  done,  O  Lord  !  " 

He  retained  the  perfect  use  of  his  faculties,  and  remained 
conscious,  I  think,  to  within  five  minutes  of  his  death. 

One  day,  when  Dr.  McSherry  was  trying  some  new  remedy 
to  ease  his  intense  suffering,  he  said  :  "  It  is  useless,  doctor; 
I  am  worn  out,  worn  out."  The  doctor  replied  :  "  Your 
head  and  your  heart.  Archbishop,  are  not  worn  out."  "  No," 
he  answered,  "  my  heart  is  certainly  not  worn  out,  but  my 
lungs  are." 

It  would  be  difficult  to  suffer  more  than  he  suffered  during 
those  six  weeks  in  which  he  sat  in  his  chair,  without  sleep 
and  without  rest,  and  literally  choked  to  death.  "  If  I  get 
well,"  he  said,  the  day  before  he  died,  "  I  intend  to  write  a 
treatise  on  the  art  of  choking  to  death."  He,  however,  had 
no  thought  of  recovering,  but  had  said  from  the  very  begin- 
ning of  his  sickness  that  his  hour  had  come ;  and  no  favor- 
able symptoms  ever  deluded  him  for  a  moment  into  the 
belief  that  he  would  again  be  restored  to  health. 

The  consulting  physician  one  day  assured  him  that,  not- 
withstanding his  great  suffering,  he  would  soon  be  better. 
He  made  no  reply ;  but  when  the  doctor  had  left  the  room, 
he  said  to  the  Sisters:  "I  will  soon  be  better,  indeed,  but 
not  in  the  way  that  he  means." 


Illness  and  Death  of  ArcJibisJiop  Spalding.     457 

On  the  feast  of  the  Purification,  he  heard  Mass,  sitting  in 
his  chair,  and  received  again  the  Holy  Viaticum.  He  spent 
the  whole  day  in  tender  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Virgin. 
He  had  lost  his  own  mother,  he  said,  when  he  was  five  years 
old,  and  he  had  then  taken  the  Blessed  Virgin  for  his  mother, 
and  she  had  had  care  of  him  through  life. 

He  several  times  spoke  of  his  mother  during  his  last  ill- 
ness, of  whose  size,  features,  and  gentle  ways  he  said  he 
had  a  very  distinct  remembrance,  though  she  had  died  when 
he  was  so  young  ;  and  he  related  to  the  Sisters  the  anec- 
dote about  her  calling  him  her  little  bishop. 

The  following  incident  I  shall  give  in  the  words  of  the 
Sisier  of  Charity*  who  nursed  the  Archbishop  during  the 
last  five  weeks  of  his  life  :  "  On  Sunday  night  (February  4), 
he  seemed  to  be  much  easier,  and  asked  us  to  say  prayers 
for  him.  When  we  had  finished,  he  continued  to  move  his 
lips  in  silent  prayer.  All  at  once  he  raised  his  eyes  and 
hands  towards  heaven,  his  countenance  lighted  up,  and  in 
an  ecstasy  of  delight  he  exclaimed :  '  O  my  beautiful 
mother !  my  sweet  mother !  how  beautiful  thou  art ! '  He  said 
to  me  :  '  Oh  !  do  you  see  her  ?  '  But  all  that  I  saw  was  his 
countenance,  so  radiant  that  I  know  not  how  to  describe  it. 
After  remaining  thus  transported  with  joy  for  three  or  four 
minutes,  he  closed  his  eyes,  and  said  :  '  Now,  my  sweet  Jesus, 
I  know  for  certain  that  thou  art  going  to  take  me  to  thyself; 
for  thou  wouldst  not  permit  me  to  see  that  light  and  leave 
me  in  this  miserable  world.  O  my  God  !  that  light  alone  is 
worth,  not  only  one,  but  many  lives.'  I  then  asked  him 
what  he  had  seen.  Hesitating  for  some  moments,  he  said  : 
'  Well,  I  will  tell  you,  but  you  must  say  nothing  of  it,  for 
the  world  would  only  laugh  at  it.  My  blessed  Mother  has 
deigned  to  visit  me,  and  I  saw  her  divine  Son  at  a  distance. 
She  smiled  on  me,  and  said  :  "  Courage,  my  child  ;  all  will  be 

*  Sister  Louise  Collins. 


458  Life  of  ArchbisJiop  Spalding. 

well ;  I  will  soon  come  again."  But  she  did  not  tell  me 
when.'  Then,  looking  at  the  pictures  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
lie  said  :  '  Take  them  away  ;  I  can  no  longer  see  in  them  any 
trace  of  my  beautiful  mother.'  " 

"  I  cannot,"  continues  the  good  Sister  of  Charity  who 
writes  this  account,  "  give  an  idea  of  my  feelings  while  this 
heavenly  scene  lasted.  I  was  afraid  to  breathe,  and  I  kept 
my  eyes  steadily  fixed  on  his  countenance,  which  shone  with 
a  most  brilliant  light.  On  my  way  home  the  next  morning, 
I  asked  the  sister  who  had  been  present  with  me  what  her 
impressions  were  at  the  time.  She  replied  :  '  I  was  awe 
struck  and  astonished  at  your  reply  when  the  Archbishop 
asked  you  if  you  did  not  see  the  light.  You  answered,  No.*  . 
'  Well,*  said  I,  '  did  you  see  it  ?  '  'I  did  not  see  the  light  he 
spoke  of,'  she  answered,  '  but  I  saw  it  reflected  on  his  coun- 
tenance.' " 

Archbishop  Spalding  had  never  in  his  whole  life,  I  think, 
had  even  a  temptation  to  doubt  of  the  truth  of  his  faith. 
In  fact,  the  only  arguments  which  Catholics  ever  have 
against  the  church  are  their  own  sins.  These  are  their  only 
reasons  for  doubting.  The  Catholic  faith,  lived  up  to,  is 
never  doubted  of.  With  Archbishop  Spalding,  faith  and  act 
had  gone  hand  in  hand  ;  and  he  had  not  trod  the  primrose 
path  of  dalliance  whilst  pointing  out  to  others  the  steep  and 
thorny  way  that  leads  to  heaven.  His  faith  was  therefore 
strong,  as  his  life  had  been  pure.  But  in  his  last  illness,  he 
seemed  almost  to  realize  the  truths  of  the  unseen  world,  and 
to  contemplate  them  as  though  the  earthly  veil,  that  sym- 
bolizes but  hides  them,  had  been  withdrawn.  During  the 
six  weeks  of  intense  suffering  that  immediately  preceded 
his  death,  his  conversation  was  in  heaven,  and  he  seemed  to 
be  as  an  aged  exile,  who,  after  long  years  of  weary  wander- 
ings, at  length  catches  a  glimpse  of  the  home  where  his  eyes 
first  beheld  the  light  of  heaven  and  the  created  image  of 


Ilhiess  and  Death  of  A7xhbishop  Spalding.     459 

'God's  beauty.  He  prayed  almost  without  ceasing,  and  when 
he  spoke,  unless  he  said  some  playful  word  to  make  others 
cheerful,  it  was  always  of  God  and  his  divine  Son,  of  the 
•ever  Blessed  Virgin  and  the  saints.  Each  time  that  he 
took  his  medicine,  he  made  a  special  act  of  obedience,  and 
.always  blessed  it  with  the  sign  of  the  cross  before  receiving 
it  from  the  hand  of  the  sister. 

On  Tuesday  night,  February  6,  he  thought  he  was  near 
■death,  and  he  sent  for  his  good  and  devoted  priests,  as  he 
loved  to  call  them  ;  and,  when  they  had  gathered  around 
him,  he  made  them  kneel  down  and  recite  the  prayers  of 
the  church  for  the  departing  soul.  The  next  morning 
(Wednesday,  February  7),  he  was  suffering  less  than  usual. 
When  some  one  asked  him  how  he  felt,  he  answered  :  "  I 
.am  much  easier,  and  entirely  relieved  of  the  choking  sensa- 
tion ;  but  I  am  now  dying  of  exhaustion."  A  little  later, 
in  reply  to  the  same  question,  he  said :  "  I  am  nearer 
heaven."  He  remained  perfectly  calm,  and  during  the 
•forenoon  talked  in  a  very  pleasant  and  cheerful  manner. 
About  half-past  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  he  said  that 
he  would  like  to  lie  on  the  lounge  which  was  in  his  room. 
After  he- had  been  placed  on  it,  he  told  the  Sisters  to  kneel 
.and  say  the  Our  Father  and  the  Hail  Mary  five  times,  in 
honor  of  the  five  wounds  of  our  Lord.  He  then  blessed 
them  and  bade  them  good-by,  saying  that  he  would  pray 
for  all  his  children  and  friends  in  heaven.  The  Sisters  saw 
that  he  was  dying,  and  sent  for  Bishop  Becker  and  the  cler- 
gymen who  were  in  the  house.  They  immediately  entered 
the  room.  The  Archbishop  raised  his  eyes  and  saw  one  of 
them  kneeling  near  him,  and  he  made  a  sign  to  the  Sister 
that  he  wished  to  say  something.  She  bent  over  him,  and 
he  whispered,  as  if  excusing  himself  for  not  speaking,  "  Tell 
him  that  I  have  lost  my  voice,  and  cannot  speak."  Bishop 
Becker  then  gave  him  the  last  blessing,  and  in  five  minutes 


Life  of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

Archbishop  Spalding's  mortal  life  was  over.  He  died  with- 
out a  struggle,  so  calmly  and  peacefully  that  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  tell  the  precise  moment  when  the  soul  parted  from 
the  body  ;  and  the  sweet  smile  that  had  cheered  so  many  a 
weary  soul  still  hovered  about  those  lips  which  had  pleaded 
only  for  truth,  and  justice,  and  mercy. 

His  body  was  embalmed  and  laid  in  state  in  the  parlor  of 
the  episcopal  residence,  which  had  been  converted  into  a 
cJiapelle  ardente. 

The  public  was  admitted  to  view  the  remains  on  Friday 
morning,  February  the  9th  ;  and  during  this  and  the  two 
following  days,  a  continuous  stream  of  human  beings  passed 
around  the  catafalque  on  which  the  body  was  lying.  The 
whole  city  seemed  to  mourn.  All  creeds,  colors,  nationali- 
ties, and  conditions  of  life  were  represented  in  the  vast 
crowds  that  gathered  to  look  for  the  last  time  upon  all  that 
remained  of  one  whose  goodness  and  purity  of  life  no  one 
doubted.  Even  the  breath  of  envy  and  of  sectarian  bitter- 
ness was  silenced,  and,  from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other, 
all  bore  testimony  to  the  noble  character  and  spotless  life 
of  Archbishop  Spalding. 

The  funeral  took  place  on  Monday,  February  the  I2th. 
From  early  morning,  the  square  around  the  cathedral  was 
packed  with  people,  anxious  to  assist  at  the  last  sad  rites, 
and  thousands  turned  away,  despairing  of  being  able  even 
to  obtain  a  sight  of  the  procession.  Fourteen  bishops  and 
probably  two  hundred  priests  took  part  in  the  ceremonies. 
The  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  Archbishop  McCloskey. 
When  all  was  over,  the  body  was  borne  down  the  central 
aisle  of  the  cathedral  into  the  vaults  beneath,  and  was  laid 
under  the  sanctuary,  by  the  side  of  the  remains  of  Arch- 
bishop Kenrick. 

Gloriosi  principes  terrcs,  quomodo  in  vita  sua  dilexerunt  se 
ita  et  in  morte  no7i  snni  separati. 


INDEX 


Ability,  the,  of  Archbishop 
Spalding,  444. 

Accusations  against  priests, 
Archbishop  Spalding's  man- 
ner of  dealing  with,  270. 

Advocate,  the  Catholic,  72. 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  352. 

America,  the  Church  of,  403. 

Annecy,  425. 

Anniversary,  twenty-fifth,  of 
the  elevation  of  Pius  IX.  to 
the  chair  of  Peter,  440. 

Archbishop  Spalding,  charac- 
teristic features  in  the  life 
of,  442  ;  his  clear  insight  into 
the  wants  of  the  church  in 
this  countr\',  443  ;  his  know- 
ledge of  character,  445  ;  the 
willingness  with  which  he 
accepted  death,  449. 

Asylum,  St.  Thomas'  Orphan, 
146;  St.  Joseph's,  ibid. 

Avignon,  171. 

Badin,  Father,  138. 
Baltimore,  archdiocese  of,  263. 
Barbee,  John,  185. 
Barnabo,    Cardinal,    letter   of 
Archbishop  Spalding  to,  384. 
Becker,  Right  Rev.  Thomas  A., 

375- 
Belgium,  161. 

BiHo,    Cardinal,    letter    of,    to 

Archbishop  Spalding,  432. 


Bishops  in  the  United  States, 
difficulties  of  their  position, 
144  et  seq.  ;  mode  of  appoint- 
ing, 310;  number  of,  in  the 
United  States,  334. 

Books  of  devotion,  295. 

Bragg,  General,  249. 

Brotherhoods,  the  teaching, 
155^/  seq. 

Brothers,  the  Xaverian,  160; 
of  Christian  instruction,  161  ; 
of  the  Christian  schools,  266  ; 
of  St.  Patrick,  266. 

Byrne,  the  Rev.  Wm.,  21. 

Calvin,  John,  426. 

Cantons,  Protestant  and 
Catholic,  of  Switzerland, 
428. 

Cathedral,  St.  Joseph's,  Bards- 
town,  66  ;  of  the  Assumption, 
in  Louisville,  147  et  seq.  ;  of 
Baltimore,  266,  269  ^  of  Phila- 
delphia, 272. 

Catholicism  the  onl)-  logical 
Christianity,  447. 

Catholics  of  Kentucky,  17  et 
seq.;  habits  of,  136  et  seq.; 
their  want  of  generositv  ex- 
plained, 140  el  s.q. ;  re\'er- 
ence  of,  for  the  priestly  char- 
acter, 139. 

Catholicity,  evidences  of,  98; 
and  nati.  jnalism,  176. 


402 


l7idex. 


Carroll,  Charles,  33,  47  ;  Arch- 
bishop, 238. 

Centenary  of  the  martyrdom 
of  St.    Peter   and    St.    Paul, 

346. 

Ceremonies,  closing,  of  the  Se- 
cond Plenary  Council  of  Bal- 
timore, 31 S. 

Chabrat,  Bishop,  57 ;  his  re- 
signation accepted,  96. 

Chapter,  Canonical,  312. 

Character,  moral,  of  Archbish- 
op Spalding,  444. 

Charleston,  diocese  of,  286. 

Chatard.  Dr.,  letter  of,  to  Arch- 
bishop Spalding,  430. 

Chicago,  diocese  of,  376. 

Church,  Protestantsdefending 
the,  190;  history  of,  in  the 
United  States,  264;  the,  and 
the  country,  234  ;  the 
strength  of,  112;  her  ser- 
vices to  the  cause  of  civili- 
zation, 114,  116;  influence 
of,  235. 

Civita  Vecchia,  380. 

Clay,  Henr3%  letter  of,  181. 

Ccetus  Theologorum  of  the 
Second  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore,  303. 

College,  St.  Mary's,  21  ;  St.  Jo- 
seph's, 28  ;  Georgetown,  264  ; 
Sulpician,  Baltimore,  266; 
Mt.  St.  Mary's,  Emmitsburg, 
265;  Loyola,  266  ;  American, 
at  Louvain,  162  el  seq.  ;  num- 
ber of  missionaries  which  it 
has  sent  to  the  United 
States,  167  ;  American,  of 
Rome,  358. 

Commission,  the,  de  fidci,  in 
the  Vatican  Council,  Arch- 


bishop   Spalding  a  member- 
of,  414- 

Concannen,  Bishop,  310. 

Confessions  of  children  who. 
have  not  made  their  first 
communion.  276. 

Consistency  of  the  church,  382. 

Convent,  of  women,  first  in  the 
United  States,  265. 

Conventuals,  minor,  241. 

Converts,  Archbishop  Spal- 
ding's interest  in,  86  et  seq.  ,- 
their  status  in  the  church, 
227  ;  number  of  in  Ken- 
tucky and  Maryland,  335. 

Corcoran,  the   Rev.  James  A.,. 

303- 

Correspondence  of  Bishop 
Spalding  and  Archbishop 
Kenrick,  225  ;  of  Arch- 
bishop Spalding,  279. 

Corruption  of  American  so- 
ciety, 363. 

Cosker)^    Father,    address    of, 

433- 

Council,  the  First  Plenary  of 
Baltimore,  151  et  seq.;  the 
Second  Plenary  of  Balti- 
more, 298 ;  the  Episcopal, 
312  ;  the  Second  Plenary  of 
Baltimore  and  Papal  infalli- 
bility, 399. 

Councils,  Provincial,  of  Cin- 
cinnati, 200  ;  law  of  the 
Council  of  Trent  concern- 
ing, 308. 

Country,  the,  and  the  churchy 

234- 

Covington,  diocese  of,  152. 

Crittenden,  John  J.,  93. 

Crusade,  anti-Catholic,  favora- 
ble to  the  church,  198. 


Index. 


465 


Cullen,  cardinal,  48,  353  ;  letter 
of  Archbishop  Spalding  to, 
383- 

Dances,  immodeic,  360. 
Darras,     translation     of     the 

Church  History  of,  279. 
D'Aubigne,  230. 
David,     Bishop,     27,     56;    his 

death,       124;      biographical 

sketch  of,  253. 
Death  of  Archbishop  Spalding, 

459- 

Dechamps,  Mgr.,  411. 

Deniocrac3%  difference  between 
European  and  American, 
273 ;  Christian,  377. 

De  Neve,  Mgr.,  167. 

Devotion  to  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin, 296. 

Difficulties,  the  historical, 
brought  against  the  Papal 
infallibility,  408. 

Diocese  of  Louisville,  condi- 
tion of,  in  1864,  253. 

Discussions  in  the  Vatican 
Council,  manner  in  which 
they  were  conducted,  417. 

Doane,  the  Rev.  G.  H.,  360. 

Dollinger,  Dr.,  406, 

Dominicans,  the,  129. 

Dubois,  the  Rev.  John,  265. 

Dupanloup,  Bishop,  letter  ot 
Archbishop  Spalding  to,  397. 

Eccleston,  Archbishop,  266. 

Education,  Roman  ecclesiasti- 
cal, 44,  45  ;  of  woman,  370. 

Elba,  Isle  of,  380. 

Eloquence  of  the  pulpit.  Ca- 
tholicity and  Protestantism 
compared  in  their  influence 
upon,  99  ct  scq. 

England,  Bishop,  49  et  seq. 


Europe,  visit  of  Bishop  Spal- 
ding to,  158. 

Faith  a  gift  of  God,  280. 

Fenelon,  41 1. 

Finances  of  the  diocese  of 
Louisville,  225. 

Flaget,  Bishop,  27  ;  resignation 
accepted,  56;  the  last  months 
of  his  life,  123. 

Founders  of  the  American  Re- 
public, 364. 

Franklin,  Dr.,  257. 

Freedom  of  Discussion  in  the- 
Vatican  Council,  417. 

Freemasonry,  282. 

Friedrich,  Dr.,  419. 

GalHcanism,  159,  406. 
Gardiner,  Mother  Frances,  425. 
Gaume,  the  Abbe,  159. 
Gazette,  the  Pall  Mall,  411. 
Geneva,  426. 
Gerbet,  the  Abbe,  160. 
Gibbons,   Rt.   Rev.   James  A., 

375- 

Gousset,  Cardinal,  158. 

Government,  interference  of, 
in  the  appointment  of  bi- 
shops, 257. 

Governments,  the,  of  Europe, 
406. 

Gregory  XVL,  43. 

Habits,    personal,    of    Bishop 

Spalding,  222. 
Hallam,  231. 
Haseltine,    the     Rev.    Joseph, 

247. 
Haskins,  Father,  293. 
Health,     ill,     of     Archbishop 

Spalding,  449. 
Hecker,  Very  Rev.  L  T.,  342, 


464 


Index, 


Heiss,  Bishop,  303. 
Henry,  Professor,  240. 
Heresies  of  Sixteenth  Century, 

causes  which  led  to,  232. 
History    of  the    Reformation, 

230. 
Hohenlohe,    Prince,    note    of, 

407. 
Holland,  168. 
Holy  Childhood,   Association 

of,  277. 
Hospitality,  episcopal,  269. 
Hospitals,     the     military,     in 

Kentucky,  246. 
House,  the,  of  Calvin,  428. 
Hughes,  Archbishop,  31,  189. 
Huntington,  Dr.,  227. 
Huxley,  Professor,  332. 

Illness,  last,  of  Archbishop 
Spalding,  453. 

Indianapolis,  252. 

Indians  in  Kentucky,  16. 

Industrial  School  for  boys,  St. 
Joseph's,  374. 

Infallibility,  the,  of  the  Pope, 
Archbishop  Spalding  had 
always  believed  in,  382  ;  a 
logical  consequence  of  the 
Primacy,  398  ;  not  a  new  doc- 
trine, 419. 

Institute,  Smithsonian,  240 ; 
Catholic,  of  Cincinnati,  242. 

Institutions  of  learning  in  Ken- 
tucky, f45  ;  religious,  num- 
ber of.  in  the  United  States, 


jj 


5- 


Invasion,  the,  of  Rome  by  the 
Italian  Government,  430. 

Irish  Catholics,  prejudices 
against,  326;  the  love  of,  for 
the  priest,  354. 

Italy,  350. 


Ives,  Dr.,  227,  293. 

Jesuits,  the,  49  ;  in  Kentucky, 

125,  140,  250. 
Joio-iial,  the  Louisville,  182. 
Journalism,  religious,  75  ei  seq. 
Jubilee  of  1825,  25. 

Kenrick,  Most  Rev.  Francis 
Patrick,  27,  227  ;  compared 
with  Archbishop  Spalding, 
261  ;  his  doctrine  on  Papal 
infallibility,  400. 

Keogh,  the  Rev.  James,  303. 

Kindekens,  Very  Rev.  Peter, 
167. 

Know-Nothings,  the,  184. 

Ladies  of  the    Sacred    Heart, 

358. 

Lafayette,  General,  191. 

Law,  canon,  218. 

Lazarists,  the,  266. 

League,  the  Louisville,  97. 

Lecturer,  Bishop  Spalding's  la- 
bors as  a,  102. 

Lectures,  Sunday  evening,  98. 

Lefcvre,  B-shop,  167. 

Legislature,  the,  of  Kentucky, 
248. 

Letter  of  Bishop  Miles,  91  ;  of 
Bishop    O'Connor,  260. 

Letters  of  Archbishop  Spal- 
ding to  his  father,  30,  42  ;  to 
Archbishop  Kenri-ck,  30;  to 
Father  Byrne,  33;  to  his 
brother,  37,45  ;  to  his  sister, 
39 ;  to  Bishop  Flaget,  58  ; 
to  Mrs.  Coleman,  93;  of 
Bishop  Flaget,  38.  57  ;  Apos- 
tolic, 300. 

Lexington,  Dr.  Spalding  pas- 
tor of,  83  ct  scq. 


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